SAINSBURY'S Voice of the Customer

Tara Hutchinson, Senior National Account Manager – Off Trade caught up with Tom Southall, Beer Buyer at Sainsburys. Check out how they got on…

It was a bright and warm July morning when Tom Southall, the Beer Buyer at Sainsburys, visited our fantastic Brewery. We began the day with what Tom described as ‘an excellent, engaging and educational’ tour of the brewery with experts Steve Ruthen and Alan Fulcher.

The buyer was amazed at the scale of the volume going through the brewery on a daily basis – it certainly made him appreciate the need for accurate forecasting with just 3 barrels of beer being brewed at any one time! There was also an unplanned moment of greatness when Tom noticed what appeared to be the classic Sainsburys slogan “Taste the difference” written on the Brewery wall! After a timely lunch at the Beer Café, we then began the Brand immersion sessions where the marketing team shared the stories of our brands before touching on the year-to-go marketing plans. Tom was also able to taste our beers and compare the different styles we have to offer. We asked Tom some questions after the day. Here’s what he had to say:

How did you find the Greene King Brewery tour today?

Brewery tour was excellent. I really enjoyed being taken on the journey through time that is the Greene King story - Steve and Alan were able to provide so much interesting detail on this - from a brewing, political and historical perspective.

Your highlight of the day would be?

Highlight of the day was the panoramic view of the Brewery and surrounding areas – visually taking in the town of Bury St Edmunds.

What was your favourite beer during the tastings and why?

I was pleasantly surprised by my first tasting of Ice Breaker which isn’t normally a beer style I would go for!

The Craft Beer category continues to be a big focus for both Greene King and Sainsbury’s this year. What do you think we need to be doing as a team to continue to drive sales within this ever-evolving market?

Greene King has done a great job of bringing new products to the craft beer category, we need to keep our foot on the gas, increasing awareness of these brands in the on and off-trade to drive sales.

What do you think the next big trend in the Beer market will be?

I think the moderation trend is here to stay so we should see the breadth of choice available to shoppers continue to widen in this area and become more accessible. The ‘Low’ alc 1.5-3.5% ABV range along with 0.0/0.5% should proliferate in the coming year or so. The current social and economic climate is affecting us all, how is Sainsbury’s dealing with the impact and how do you think the Beer category will be affected? At Sainsbury’s, we are putting a lot of focus on monitoring the changes in commodity pricing and potential deflation in order to ensure we continue to bring the best value proposition to our shoppers. For the beer category, I think the duty change will mean that the trend of polarisation across price points will continue.

How can Greene King continue to support Sainsbury’s?

We are always looking to provide the best value but also bring new products to market first. Greene King can support by helping us with market leading deals and bringing exciting NPD to market.