According to GuestMetrics, based on its proprietary database of POS transactions of more than $8 billion dollars in transactions and more than 250 million checks from restaurants and bars across the United States, Lagunitas achieved the fourth largest share gain in 2012 market share relative to 2011 in the on-premise channel. “In analyzing the nearly 4,000 beer brands sold in on-premise, Lagunitas achieved one of the largest share gains in the category, only behind Dos Equis, Stella Artois, and Blue Moon,” says Bill Pecoriello, CEO of GuestMetrics LLC. “Based on our data, Dos Equis achieved the largest share gain in the beer category at 30 basis points, followed by Stella Artois at 25 basis points, Blue Moon at 15 basis points, and Lagunitas at 10 basis points,” continues Pecoriello.

“In further analyzing the share gains achieved by Lagunitas, while it is true they made impressive gains in 2012 relative to 2011, the brand appears to be gaining momentum even beyond what the year over year comparison suggests,” says Peter Reidhead, VP of Strategy and Insights at GuestMetrics. “Throughout most of 2011, Lagunitas had a relatively static market share in our on-premise universe at around 10 basis points. However, by the third quarter of 2012, its share figure had doubled to around 20 basis points, and one quarter later, Lagunitas wrapped up 2012 with a 30 basis point share. Much of this was due to robust increases in the distribution of the brand. At the end of 2011, Lagunitas was carried in about 4 percent of our on-premise locations, but by the end of 2012, its distribution in our universe had doubled to 8 percent closing the gap with its off-premise distribution.” 

“In our minds, this underscores the importance of restaurant operators having an up-to-date understanding of the fastest growing alcohol brands so they can adjust their menus accordingly, which is particularly important in the beer category given the rapid proliferation of craft brands,” says Brian Barrett, president of GuestMetrics. “Lagunitas has been one of the strongest growing beers in the on-premise space now for over a year, and given its average price point of $6.09 in on-premise is a 10 percent premium over the $5.55 average price for the rest of craft beers, carrying Lagunitas should be an especially attractive value proposition for restaurant operators to consider.”