Craft beer gets a protein boost
The latest innovation insight from Gama Compass™
MANCHESTER – 23rd July 2015: The latest attempt to bring functional benefits to the alcoholic drinks sector is Gama’s innovation focus for this week, as we look at a new craft beer seeking to piggyback on the craze for all things protein – Mighty Squirrel High Protein Beer.
New to Boston, MA in the USA, Mighty Squirrel High Protein Beer is advertised as a “first of its kind” “flavorful and refreshing craft beer with more protein”. Conceived around the notion that “beer after sports goes hand-in-hand”, the product is promoted primarily as a ‘beer with benefits’, perhaps functioning as a ‘lighter’ or more 'informal' alternative to a conventional sports or protein drink. In this regard, Mighty Squirrel is not, in point of fact, unique: the notion of a ‘post-workout beer’ was one that was pioneered more than a year earlier by Canadian firm Lean Machine Brands, with its Lean Machine gluten-free beer range. Where Mighty Squirrel essentially differs from Lean Machine, however, is in its positioning, first and foremost, as a craft beer. The product is sold in conventional glass bottles and emphasises the quality of its ingredients (such as water sourced from an “artesian well” and the “highest quality malted barley from Bamberg, Germany”), as well as the craft of the production process and the complexity of its flavour notes.
Despite the proliferation of craft brewing in recent years, Mighty Squirrel is ploughing something of a lonely furrow when it comes to functional benefits in the craft beer segment. As such, the fortunes of ventures such as Lean Machine and Mighty Squirrel could act as a useful barometer for the concept of health enhancement in the alcoholic drinks space, determining in particular whether an emphasis on ‘craft’ or ‘efficacy’ proves the best route to success for would-be protagonists in the ‘functional beer’ arena.
Additional sources: Lean Machine / Boston Magazine
Image source: Mighty Squirrel
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Cesar Pereira, founder & CEO of Gama, is available for comment. To arrange an interview please contact +44 161 818 8700 or info@gamaconsumer.com.
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