Coopers lifts with foot in both camps

The little brother of Australian brewing has now become the man of the house.

For much of its 153 years Coopers has been seen as that quaint family-owned business dwarfed by the big brew houses that surrounded the operation from both sides of the country.

Now the South Australian company has been adopted by the rest of the nation.

In the court of public opinion Coopers carries the Australian brewing flag. With Lion and CUB now owned by international conglomerates, Coopers stands for local interests. It is still controlled by descendants of originator Thomas Cooper and manufactures its product in Adelaide.

The exit of Swan Brewery and the relocation of Emu Export and Emu Bitter, part of the Lion empire, to South Australia left a bad taste in the mouths of some West Australian drinkers. Even the departure of Little Creatures and Matilday Bay HQs stung the tongue.

So that sense of patriotism has flowed on to Coopers and as national sales and marketing manager Cam Pearce highlights, “there is something about authenticity and integrity. It is a real thing to connect to”.

And those with dry throats outside of SA are following the trend.

Almost 11 per cent of Coopers sales come from WA and the financial arrow is on the rise.

Indeed, for the first time in one and half centuries NSW (26 per cent) is Coopers' biggest market, ahead of the home State at 24.8 per cent. The position brings a smile to the face of the brewer’s managing director, Dr Tim Cooper, a fifth-generation descendant of the founder.

“What our research indicates is Perth is a premium beer market,” said Dr Cooper. “And that is where there has been a rise.

“Since the recession of the early 1990s when the Australian market dropped 10 per cent in three years there has been continuous growth in the premium beer market. Back then the premium market was only four per cent.

“But those mainstream brands have shrunk from 70 per cent to 50 per cent of the market. And the premium market has grown up to 25 per cent.

“Now we have about five per cent of the Australian market.”

Coopers have never strongly favoured the craft beer identity for its range of products which stretch from the ever-popular Original Pale Ale, Sparkling Ale and Dark Ale to the Best Extra Stout, Celebration Ale, Artisan Reserve and its recently added international partners Sapporo, Carlsberg and Kronenbourg.

Yet the artisanal beer revolution has prompted drinkers’ experimentation. And in terms of the great variety now on offer Coopers has provided a consistent, regular yet not-over-hyped stable of beers.

“Are we mainstream or are we craft?” was the question posed by Pearce, another member of the big Cooper’s family tree.

“Coopers has a unique and distinctive place. Consumers don’t box it.”

However, there is no doubt Coopers are the poster boys for the new beer segment. Not bad for a company that has, on more than one occasion almost gone under.

Wars, recessions, location and bullying from rivals have threatened the business.

However, Dr Cooper points out the brewery is now enjoying year-on-year growth.

Dr Tim Cooper and Cam Pearce.

“It is fair to say we nearly lost it a couple of times,” Dr Cooper said.

“Originally I did medicine because our generation in the 70s was told by my father and his cousins that it was in financial difficulty.

“At one stage my father said around the dinner table in 1976 that if the company didn’t survive the next six weeks it was gone.

“But then in 1977 the company got into home brew and it was a fly away success and it gave them the money to reinvest in the company during the 1980s.”

Now Coopers have set some strong targets for the future.

Last year the brewery sold 77 million litres of beer, up seven per cent on the previous 12 months.

So Dr Cooper wants to take his family’s heirloom to new heights, but he won’t be selling the farm to do so.

“I said in 2012 in 10 years time I thought we’d be seven per cent of the national beer market,” he said. “Our national sales manager believes he can get us there by 2020.

“We’ve got some headwinds in the market because volumes have been declining and because the two big competitors don’t want to lose market share it means there is pressure on the brewers to provide discounts and rebates.

“We have to be judicious in how we sell the beer. We’re not so desperate to sell more beer that we want to discount it.

“We need to grow but maintain our integrity.”

And that is what many Australian drinkers hope continues.