BY KATE ROA
If you’re concerned about not being the life of the party since Celiac disease paid you a visit – don’t be. The Internet is a-buzz with gluten-free beer tasting blogs and grass roots campaigns intended to raise the awareness of brewers. Efforts have paid off. This year gluten-free beer will be plentiful in New Jersey.
According to Hunterdon Distributors’ spokesperson, Nancy Maddalloni, breweries have been cautiously ramping up in the national gluten-free market for five years. This year she’s seen a significant spike in her company’s sales driven by customer engagement, surveys and persistent industry research.
“We just reordered New Plant. Well-established brand, Dogfish Head, just sold out, and we’re selling eight cases of Bard’s Tale a day,” says Maddalloni. “Dogfish Head ran a thoughtful product survey on their website. They asked customers what kind of beer they’d like to see made. Gluten-free was the number one request.”
In 2012 Hunterdon Distributors sells gluten-free beer to 400 businesses. Last year it was 100. They grew the accounts by staying on top of trends and placing products in the right distributions channels at the right time.
“Our aim is to build the best portfolio of craft beer in New Jersey,” says Maddalloni. “We received our first shipment of Colorado’s New Planet two weeks ago. We expect it to do well. We’ve carried Bard’s Tale for five years. In the last six months, we’ve been selling eight cases a day…and the Epic brand is also selling well.”
