Kennebunkport Brewing Company (KBC)

copyright 1999
ISBN 0-324-03371-0

Case Teaching Package
A case teaching package is available for this case. It includes strategies for case presentation, key concepts, solutions to the assignment questions in the case, and suggestions for the most effective ways to work this case into your course.

Length
This case is 6 pages in length and its case teaching package is 14 pages.

Abstract

The Kennebunkport Brewing Company case is a review of an entrepreneurial venture. The case illustrates the marketing situation of a start-up business that eventually becomes a significant regional brewery.

A brewpub is started as a draw to an under-performing retail complex in a coastal resort community, Kennebunkport, Maine. The brewpub gains initial success during the summer season, only to suffer a slump in business as the tourist season ends.

This non-quantitative case, based on the actual situation, is intended for a principles of marketing and/or principles of entrepreneurship class. It allows students to be creative in applying the 4 Ps (product, price, promotion and place) and positioning concepts. The case gives information about the size and possible motivations of possible target markets. Included are data on the macro and craft beer industry that allows the student to understand the historical changes in the industry from the 1940s to the early 1990s.

Objectives of the case include to provide a decision-oriented marketing/entrepreneurial case for undergraduate marketing and/or entrepreneurship courses, provide a situational analysis of an industry ready for entrepreneurial action, present a marketing/entrepreneurial example showing an integrated marketing mix and effective positioning, and show the need for quick entrepreneurial action needed to capitalize upon market conditions and establish market position.

Study Questions

1. What should KBC do about its sales slump at Federal Jack's?
2. Who was the target market? What are their needs and/or motivations for buying super-premium beer?
3. How should KBC position Shipyard Export Ale?
4. What marketing mix do you recommend?
5. If KBC bottles Shipyard, and if sales grow rapidly, how can they produce enough to keep up with demand should sales grow beyond Federal Jack's small 1,800 annual barrel capacity?
6. How can Forsley afford to expand human resource depth?
7. How can Forsley finance his initiatives?