MINNEAPOLIS -- It's been more than a year since Target Corp. brought in its first-ever regional beer buyer. Dan Connell was brought on to expand the discount chain's beer set by latching onto trends such as craft beers and ciders.
Local beer preferences were tapped and beer sets were reinvented, highlighting the new beers and even adding the chain's first beer cave in Denver this past spring.
“The tricky part is, every city, town and market is fiercely loyal to its own set of local and craft labels, so across the map, our assortments have to look very different,” Connell said in a recent blog post.
But the results are worth it, he said. In some areas, craft-beer sales are up 40%.
Here are a few pieces of regional beer wisdom Dan’s picked up along the way, according to the Target blog ...