Chapter 4- Evaluating Environmental Opportunites

When evaluating environmental threats, Sam Adams has focused on neutralizing and making some of those obstacles opportunities.

Through product differentiation, cooperation, supplier diversification, and new customer focus, Sam Adams has placed themselves as a model for 'craft' brewers throughout the world.  

Sam Adams culture focuses on unique quality, product knowledge and employee value.  Bringing all of these qualities together makes them a company that produces some of the best beer in the world.  

Sam Adams has a standard of their own.  They do not necessarily focus their attention on the competition but it is put into the practices that they adhere to with their business plan.  They differentiate their product to handle threats of entry, rivalry and substitutes. They work with multiple suppliers throughout the world to get the best ingredients for their beer and believe that only the 'best' will do.  Finally, to grow their company they seek new customers with regular promotions and charities to bring about public awareness of their product.  To give an example of this last point, I thought this might help...

Brewing the American Dream

In June of 2008, Jim and The Boston Beer Company launched a program called Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream® to provide low and moderate income food & beverage small business owners (typically employing between 1-5 people) with the financial support and mentoring they need to achieve their dreams even when the odds are stacked against them. Jim has not lost sight of his humble beginnings or forgotten how hard it was in the early years, which is why he felt it was important to give back to other passionate small business owners. In launching the program, The Boston Beer Company partnered with ACCION USA, the domestic arm of Boston-based ACCION International, a global microfinance nonprofit. The Boston Beer Company committed an initial $250,000 to establish the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Loan Fund, providing much needed capital to lower and moderate income small business owners whose businesses would not be approved for a bank loan. The microloans offered through Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream range from $500 - $25,000 with an average loan size of $7,000.

In addition to providing loans, the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program also seeks to assist hundreds of other microentrepreneurs through coaching and mentoring workshops offered to local small business owners. Through educational opportunities like Speed Coaching workshops developed by Samuel Adams employees, the program provides an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to meet one-on-one in 20 minute intervals with Boston Beer employees to get advice and ask questions about web development, marketing, packaging, design, publicity, pricing and sales & distribution for help in starting their own businesses.