Beer Marketer's Insights - TX's Manhattan Project Beer Co Thrives In, Relishes Tuff Environment: 30K Bbls/Yr by 2027 with Goal to Reach 1 Mil Cases in Dallas/Ft Worth

"We don't compromise," Misty Sanford, co-founder of the Manhattan Project Beer Company, told CBN when asked how co was thriving in a tuff environment. "For the first 2-3 years, we didn't have a home. When we messed up, it wasn't a huge financial ruin. We've continued that mindset through the entire existence of the brewery. We don't compromise. We dump a ton of beer. We've made $20,000 mistakes. People want beer they can rely on. We can't let them down." Co has grown from reporting 6.1K bbls produced in 2020 to BA to 12.8K in 2023 and 18.2K in 2024. By the time co opens its doors at its $20 mil, ~45K-sq-ft space on a 110K-sq-ft lot in nearby Mesquite - perhaps by 2027, Misty said - co aims to get up to 29K-30K bbls/yr. But they're not waiting to expand distribution. Having focused pointedly on North Texas until now, Misty said Manhattan Project will soon be rolling out to the Austin and San Antonio mkts with Brown and Silver Eagle, respectively, tho she added that co's plan is to get to 1 mil cases in Dallas/Ft Worth in next 9-10 yrs, where it's sold thru Andrews Dist."For Me, This Is When It's Fun" The macroeconomic factors pushing against craft don't bother Misty; they energize her. "For me, this is when it's fun," she said. "When you throw spaghetti at the wall and everything sticks, it's not nearly as challenging." To survive, "you have to be a visionary a little bit." That said, she believes "the industry's gonna get better, I believe that. The liquid's going to get better, branding is going to get better, and there will be smarter, savvier businesspeople."The emphasis on being biz-forward is in co's DNA, Misty said, hers in particular. Manhattan Project's growth has been extremely deliberate, even tho co started without a biz plan. "It's a heavy convo we have every year," she said, "and I was always the one pulling us back" from oversized ambitions. "Managing distributors is really, really challenging. We had to be able to win and be successful in our market, and then we could move."Looking For "Robin" to Flagship's "Batman" Co got its moniker when its eventual founders were batting around the best unclaimed names for a brewery at a San Diego bar. When "Manhattan Project" came up, they thought "someone, some day" should use the name, but "we had no idea it would be us," Misty said, tho the science theme is fitting. "We're all nerdy in our own ways," she said, and "there are a lot of trademarks and IP around beer names." By their names alone, "Manhattan Beer can immediately be recognizable."To wit, co's flagship beer is 6.2%-ABV Half-Life Hazy IPA, up low double-digits in NIQ $$ and vol scans YTD thru Sep 6, tho it's less than half of co's sales and Misty likes it that way, rather than have too many eggs in one basket: "We're really interested in building the brand as a whole versus chasing shipments with a single beer. I care about PODs [points of distribution], but rate of sale is more important." Co recently released a seasonal 5.2%-ABV Gold Flash Honey Lager, which has been selling well and Misty said should "travel" with Half-Life "at all times. They should always be together. We're positioning them as Batman and Robin."The success of Gold Flash underscores how palettes have "gotten simpler" since the biz was born, in her view, as it's closing in on Half-Life as the #1 tap beer at co's taproom, which accounts for 25% of co's business, she said. A second location is set to open in Plano in as soon as 18 mos (though "that is very generous" as "they haven't broken ground yet"). "People are perhaps tired of all the adjuncts that had been going into craft beer," Misty said. "It got silly for a while. They just want a beer that's good for every single moment. They don't want to obsess about it any more." The current sweet spots are in the 5-6%-ABV and 9%-ABV range, she added.Didn't "Turtle" During Pandemic Perhaps unsurprisingly for someone who thrives when the goin' gets tuff, Misty said Covid provided the co an opportunity to stand out. Manhattan Project was already bumping against capacity in Jan 2020, and when the lockdowns hit, companies began to "turtle." "When everyone got scared, they hid in their turtle shells. We grew so much because we didn't turtle," a reminder that "there's opportunity everywhere." By the end of 2020 co had reached capacity, and growth has continued from there, having recently purchased a second brewing facility from an unidentified biz (Manhattan Project is now contract brewing its beer), which will help biz increase production before Mesquite opens. Tho as CBN previously reported, Manhattan "recently signed a contract brewing agreement with Four Corners Brewing Company as a temporary measure until the Mesquite facility opens," per Mesquite News.When that happens, Misty said co will be able to produce 1 mil cases per year, with 2 mil coming shortly after that. It won't all be Manhattan Project beer to start, as they'll "bring in customers we're co-packing for." So future looks bright, and though times are rough right now, there's an irony for Misty et al: Manhattan Project, while named for the program that directly led to the nuclear bomb, it's showing that, in craft, it's hardly the end of the world.

TX's Manhattan Project Beer Co Thrives In, Relishes Tuff Environment: 30K Bbls/Yr by 2027 with Goal to Reach 1 Mil Cases in Dallas/Ft Worth

Publishing Info