Bob Bloch, Director of Champlain College’s BYOBiz Program, recently invited Alan Newman, co-founder of Magic Hat Brewery to speak at the school’s Alumni Auditorium as part of BYOBiz’s Speaking from Experience Series.

Newman moved to Vermont from NYC in the ‘70s to “get out of the rat race”, and has since woven himself a compelling professional narrative with roles at Gardener’s Supply, Seventh Generation and Magic Hat.  During Alan’s early days in Vermont, he spent time at the National Gardening Association working alongside Larry Sommers, who is now the GM of Interactive & Business Development at FreshTracks portfolio company EatingWell.   When Alan’s boss decided to spin off a for-profit business called Gardener’s Supply, Alan put his relatively advanced computer skills to work with co-founder Will Raap in this emerging mail order business.  Newman eventually outgrew his role at Gardener’s Supply and landed at Seventh Generation, where he worked to develop highly informational catalogs to educate consumers on the value of energy efficient and “green” consumer products.  Alan knew that they had something compelling when consumers were willing to contribute $25 to the for-profit company to become a “member”. 

Eventually Alan once again felt he needed a new challenge, and crossed paths with a gentleman named Bob Johnson, who was interested in founding a brewery and became Alan’s co-founder at Magic Hat Brewery.  Alan didn’t know much about the market at the time, and questioned whether with Long Trail, Catamount and Otter Creek, Vermont needed another craft brewery, but after his whirlwind tour of 33 breweries over 11 days across the west coast, the resounding answer was YES.  Bob educated Alan with crash courses on brewing equipment and yeast strings.  Alan noticed at the time that competitors were using geographic names for their breweries, brewing only classic beer types, and using dull seasonal names for their brews.  Alan thought there was an opportunity to take a different approach to branding a brewery, and positioning their product as more fun and lighthearted.  That approach has been resoundingly successful for the company, with various initiatives including the original launch of seasonal variety packs, the launch of the Burlington Mardi Gras Parade, and a Participation “Get Out the Vote” promotion all helping to connect Magic Hat to its consumers.  To see a short video on the genesis of the idea for this campaign, please click on the video below.

During the Q&A portion of the event, one attendee asked how Magic Hat could kill Bob’s First Ale, one of the original brews that put Magic Hat on the map.  Alan’s answer?  “We didn’t kill it, you did,” suggesting that tapering consumer demand, and decreasing sales dictated the decision. 

When asked what the biggest challenge was for Magic Hat today, Newman suggested that “communication & culture” is an important issue that the company will need to focus on.  In addition to recently unveiling a new, larger facility in Vermont, Magic Hat also acquired Pyramid Breweries based in Seattle, an organization perhaps twice its size. The combined entity will need to merge and assimilate cultures, as well as learn how to best communicate with the many spanish speaking employees now on board at Magic Hat due to the Pyramid acquisition.  Alan noted that maintaining a culture that is consistent with Magic Hat’s brand will be an ongoing focus of the company moving forward.

To that end, Newman led the crowd in a pledge to the Magic Hat flag, which is a ritual that kicks off each sales meeting at the company.  To view a portion of this pledge, please click on the video below.