Although brewers mostly profile themselves at the beginning through collaborations with restaurateurs that are, of course, beneficial to them, for small, independent producers, and for both profit and advertising, various festivals (large and small/local) are also very important, which have come back to life this summer.

The trend of craft production in Croatia, especially craft beer, has been alive for some time, but there are still creative people launching new brands even during the pandemic, which has certainly made it difficult for all producers. For small, independent producers, it is crucial to find a way to enter the market, especially in such times.

Thus, the Croatian craft scene welcomed beers from the small independent craft brewery Prostor brewing last September, located in the small town of Desinić, in Hrvatsko zagorje. Behind the idea of opening a brewery in the heart of Zagorje are Silvijo Regvar and Mario Podboj, neighbors who shared the same hobby of homebrewing and the same desire to open their own brewery. Along with another member, Marko Vdović, and support from HZZ, they managed to turn their passion and hobby into a business.

However, although they opened the business six months before the pandemic and are a regular offer in local rural tourism, the entire crisis slowed their development and sales, and it is precisely small, local festivals this summer that are helping them to seriously kickstart their business.

Profit for Reinvestment

– We opened the business six months before the pandemic. First, we set up production and planned to launch our first beer in the spring or summer of 2020. We achieved that goal, but the pandemic slowed us down. Namely, we planned to open a tasting room where we would sell our beer directly, but that was ultimately postponed – explained Mario Podboj.

He also pointed out that sales in the short period of 2020, since they ‘launched’ their first beer, were good, but were, as expected, spoiled by the winter lockdown. That is why, after ‘hibernation’ through the winter, the ‘live summer’ means a lot to them, which has forced them to produce beer at the maximum capacity of the fermenters they currently have.

So far this summer, they have been part of the Tabor Film Festival, where they were also the only restaurateurs, which was an excellent opportunity, and in addition to pouring beer, they offered pizza from their own kitchen. The same weekend, they supported the ‘Zbreg na breg’ race by pouring beer, then attended the Badl Fest in nearby Krapinske Toplice, and by the end of summer, they plan to pour beer at more small festivals in Zagorje. Festivals are of exceptional importance to them as they bring profit that they plan to invest in further production development.  

– These festivals mean everything to us. For us, it means beer sales, and all previous and future earnings are reinvested – said Podboj, explaining that they have numerous plans in which they need to invest.

First and foremost, the goal is to realize the plan to open a tasting room that would, in addition to tasting and selling beer, serve as a venue for small concerts, exhibitions, and cultural events. Additionally, they plan to invest in larger monthly capacities (production and fermenters), open a web shop, and later, as part of the tasting room, open a kitchen.

Advertising and Opportunity for Customer Contact

From the brewery Međimurski lepi dečki, somewhat more experienced craft colleagues, considering that they started operating in 2016, also emphasize that they were slowed down due to the pandemic. Their beer sales occur through three channels: 70 percent through the HoReCa channel, 20 percent through retail, and 10 percent via the webshop, and that is why during the pandemic, they managed to sell only 30 percent of what they produced.

This is interesting considering that before the pandemic, they sold 100 percent of the produced beer and could only participate in festivals if they had enough products for that. Moreover, the importance of festivals for them was demonstrated back in 2015 when owner Danijel Redak took over the organization of the craft beer festival in Međimurje. That year, they sold all the beer they delivered in just two hours, and today they organize their own festivals – Beerfest sjever – where they present beer along with music and socializing.

They see the greatest importance in the existence and organization of festivals where they present their beer, primarily in the opportunity for advertising, but also as a chance for direct conversations with existing and new customers. 

This Summer, Smaller and Larger Festivals Were Held

In fact, on their blog, the brewery Nova runda recently pointed out that it is difficult for small breweries to become part of large festivals because industrial breweries can finance festival sponsorships while they cannot. However, that is precisely why small festivals, with ‘underground’ performers, are a good opportunity for them because the audience for such music accepts small craft breweries. That is why they also started independently organizing the BeerYard festival in 2016, where they promote small independent breweries and small musicians.  

It is also important to highlight that some larger festivals in recent years have recognized craft breweries, such as the Super Uho festival held in Primošten, which began pouring beers from independent breweries, as well as the fairly well-known INmusic festival, which started collaborating with the brewery Crafter’s in 2018. Their beers were poured at the festival, and at that time, they explained that this is a way for them, as an independent festival, to promote small independent entrepreneurs.

Additionally, the S.A.R.S music and beer festival, which is also held this year, has included craft beers in its offer and supports their sales.

Although some festivals have not been held since the pandemic began, and some have changed slightly, this summer, small, new, and old Croatian craft beers can still be found in many places, which is a good combination for both producers, who thus generate income and advertise themselves, and for beer lovers. Thus, the PriMarius craft brewery managed to present itself this summer at the Osijek Craft Beer Festival and at the Craft Beer Fest Vrbovec, and at the Beeram festival in Vinkovci, the local audience could get to know a total of 31 types of craft beer.

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