Why You Should Be Selling: Garage Beer
Fueled by the power of investor/ owners Jason and Travis Kelce, Garage Beer is on a path to being a top 10 brand by year end 2025.
Originally founded in Ohio in 2018, Garage Beer was acquired by Andy Sauer and a team of investors in 2023. When NFL stars Jason and Travis Kelce came on board as majority owners in 2024, the brand skyrocketed to a whole new level of fame. Though Garage Beer was already successful and available in a dozen states at the time, they’ve since been methodically expanding distribution with the goal of making the light lager available nationally. Kramer Beverage began carrying Garage Beer Classic Light Beer and Classic Lime Beer last June. This accessible, not fussy, classic German-style lager is branded to attract something other than the stereotypical craft beer audience – and the idea seems to be catching on.
Beer-Flavored Beer
The premise is simple: Garage Beer tastes like beer. “People crave quality and simplicity, and Garage Beer nails both,” says Jason Kelce. Noting that Garage Beer is also all about hanging out, brother Travis adds “There is nothing better to bring people together than an ice-cold beer, and for Jason and me that is what beer is all about – friends, family and fun.”
With only 95 calories, 3g carbs and an ABV of 4%, this light, refreshing brew is not just sessionable, it’s also raising the bar for light beer quality. Garage Beer is made using nearly 60% more grain than its competition, making it a more traditional German style. No bitterness. No bloated tummy or crazy ABV. For those who crave a little more adventure than a typical light beer, Lime offers a citrus twist on the Classic recipe that promises to be “exotic”.
Perfectly positioned as an accessible, above premium, “beer-flavored beer”, Garage Beer is the fastest-growing super premium beer brand in the country and is driving growth in domestic light beer.
Building A Brand
The first step towards building a successful national beer brand is raising brand awareness. Enter Jason and Travis Kelce, former and current NFL superstars and hosts of New Heights, the second-most popular sports podcast (88th most popular podcast overall, according to Spotify). They joined the team in June 2024 as “significant investors, partners, owners and operators”, allowing Garage Beer to make an immediate national impact.
The Kelce brothers’ involvement sped up the early brand building steps of awareness, trial, adoption and loyalty on a national scale, which is why chief marketing officer Kevin George opts to focus Garage’s official marketing efforts primarily on local and social campaigns. George, a 30-year veteran of the consumer and beverage industries, spent six years as the global chief marketing officer at Beam Suntory, over 13 years in executive roles at Unilever, and as a previous board director of the New Belgium Brewing Company. When it comes to Garage, he looks for opportunities in what he calls “the zeitgeist around dad culture” and in small-scale sports activations: “We’d rather sponsor an adult men’s hockey league than buy a sign on AT&T Stadium”.
Jason Kelce is behind much of Garage Beer’s creative, including a recent digital ad that gained industry attention by flipping the script on the exploitative beer marketing you’d recognize from the ’90s. George explains they’re trying to be what they call “smart-dumb. Clever, but a little fun.” The brand has also enlisted the help of a roster of celebrity partners including Richard Rawlings of Gas Monkey Garage fame, golf media icon Paige Spiranac, and a slew of other influencers that add massive awareness.
Winning At Retail
Making consumers aware of the brand is one thing. Ensuring it’s on the shelf when they go looking for it is another. That’s why Garage Beer assembled a highly experienced and knowledgeable sales leadership team committed to building a winning brand. Building on their best-in-class marketing, Garage Beer comes to the table with a robust retail activation calendar that covers the full year with unique consumer promotions and special edition holiday packaging.
CMO Kevin George sums up his team’s optimism on the future of Garage Beer: “I love everything about the Garage Beer brand and where it is going. The distinctiveness of the brand, the simplicity of the offering…has really struck a chord with drinkers looking to have a quality craft light beer with friends and family.”
The premise is simple: Garage Beer tastes like beer. It’s a hangout beer – an excuse to get the neighbors together. It’s for guys and gals who just want to share some laughs and good times.Softball after work. A couple of beers on the back nine. Thursday night on your buddy’s patio.
As their website says, The Garage is Always Open.
Garage Beer has summer covered with engaging consumer promotions and special edition packaging, starting with the chance for consumers to win a trip to Lake Tahoe to caddy for the Kelce brothers on a golf outing. Upcoming scan-to-win programs give drinkers the opportunity to win a custom vintage Ford F-150 restored & designed by Gas Monkey Garage’s Richard Rawlings, complete with built-in Garage Beer cooler and keg holder OR a zeroturn riding lawnmower, courtesy of Jason Kelce.
About Kramer Beverage
Kramer Beverage is South Jersey’s largest beer wholesaler and is owned and operated by the Kramer family – through four generations – since 1924. They are based out of Hammonton and serve an eight-county footprint in South Jersey with top brands from Molson Coors, Constellation, Yuengling, Boston Beer, Heineken USA, Pabst, Diageo, FIFCO, and others. Kramer Beverage also distributes wine, spirits, and a variety of craft beers from suppliers such as New Belgium and Sierra Nevada to local favorites, including Cape May Brewing, Flying Fish, MudHen, Double Nickel, Evil Genius, and Glasstown. For more information, please visit www.kramerbev.com.