Little Creatures aims for big splash in China

Matt Tapper is spearheading a strategy to forge fresh revenue streams worldwide for the maker of Little Creatures.

Matt Tapper at Lion’s Sydney office. Picture: Hollie Adams

Matt Tapper isn’t sure what Chinese consumers in Shanghai think about the cherubs on the neck of a Little Creatures pale ale holding a mug of beer, but if he has any say in it Asian drinkers from Singapore to Beijing will be staring at one of those angelic characters in a bar in the years to come.

The managing director of global markets for regional brewing giant Lion, Mr Tapper is spearheading a strategy to forge fresh revenue streams for the maker of Little Creatures, XXXX, James Boag and Hahn that has at its core the fast-growing craft beer segment and an increasing interest in the style in the Asia-Pacific.

Beijing is a long way from the Little Creatures breweries in ­Geelong its spiritual home of Fremantle, and although craft beer is associated with a sense of place and ­delivering to drinkers a local community vibe, this hasn’t been an impediment to the brand’s early success in Asia.

It is more about drinkers, whether they are in Hong Kong or Bangkok, plugging into the ­vibrant and increasingly global craft beer community.

“You have parts of the world that are at different levels of ­maturity when it comes to the growth of craft beer,” Mr Tapper told The Australian. “However, what is consistent is they are all in significant growth and the millennials group of customers that we are primarily targeting — those aged 20-35 — are looking for new experiences.

“They are looking for enhanced flavours, they are looking for occasions that are both about drinking and eating. They also have high propensity to travel, so what we have done with Little Creatures is a brand that generally has been experienced by a huge amount of travellers in Australia over the years.

“Little Creatures is one of the leaders in craft brands in Australia,” he said. “It’s been around for 17 or 18 years and it has also been in overseas markets in a slightly informal way for some time, and first and foremost among the brewing community it is a highly credible pale ale product and has consistently won awards.”

Mr Tapper’s division, established in 2015, has the brief to grow Lion’s beer and fine wine products internationally. It is opening pop-up bars and microbreweries in key Asian cities as well as forging distribution deals with mainly upmarket restaurants, cafes and liquor stores, and other specialised on-premise venues such as airport lounges, bars and clubs. This month it launched in Singapore, opening the Little Creatures Mohamed Ali Lane, which consists of a microbrewery, restaurant and bar that showcases its craft beer as well as its portfolio of New Zealand and US wine.

A Little Creatures venue in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong, was opened in 2016 and has a presence in the prestigious Jockey Club and more than 120 premium liquor shops. It has also established Little Creatures in Shanghai and Beijing via a network of stand-alone “brewers lab” concept venues in partnership with local hospitality operators.

Lion is now selling Little Creatures in about 30 markets globally, including Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and The Philippines as well as Britain and the US. There are also plans to set up microbreweries or other Little Creatures formats in London and San Francisco. Mr Tapper sees these microbreweries and pop-up bars as “innovation labs’’, seeding the brand within the local community while also gathering intelligence on the reception to Little Creatures and other craft beers.

“It’s about offering something different in these markets and enables us to innovate quickly and allows us to learn about the locals and what their taste differences and preferences.”

This cautious and highly focused approach has helped gain credibility in markets for Little Creatures and has opened doors to conversations with potential partners, reflected in its national distribution arrangement with importer DXCEL in Greater China since June last year.

The focus on craft beer is not surprising when international brewers are facing flat sales in the traditional mainstream segment. Craft beer is growing strongly. “The profit in craft beer globally is likely to double over the next three to four years, so there is some significant growth in that segment,’’ Mr Tapper said. “And, if you think about the regions we are looking at and where we are setting up businesses, you can look at North America where craft beer in terms of share of the broader beer market sits about 15 per cent, and the UK and Europe at about 5 per cent. If you go to New Zealand and Australia it is about 10 per cent while Asia generally is less than 1 per cent, maybe 0.5 per cent.”

And Lion won’t be betting the farm on its Asian expansion, keen to avoid the litany of Australian corporations that have gone to Asia with big dreams, fuelled by huge licks of capital, only to retreat in the face of huge losses and bruised corporate egos.

“It is what we call a capital light approach,” Mr Tapper said. “We are planning for long-term thinking about the future profits of Lion in terms of setting up those future profit streams. We are taking a moderate level of risk but I think, first and foremost, we have been excited by the fact that being in market and having your doors open for business in itself creates opportunities each day.’’