One Beer Later has an original marketing approach within an emerging craft beer market where all players stand out through clever and quality marketing communications targeted to young urban audiences. Actually, Romania has a long and proud tradition of crafting beer, as Bucharest In Your Pocket put it. Yet, craft beer is creating new markets and consumption habits with enthusiastic entrepreneurs that brought us new products and brands such as Zaganu, Sikaru, Ground Zero, Terapia, Nemteana. If Clinica de Bere was the first to make a difference in 2010, we’ve talked with Francois D'Hollander from one of the newest microbreweries in Romania set up in Buzau. More than that, for marketing and beer aficionados alilke, “One Beer Later” has an open position to fill soon! Find out more in an interview with one of the two founders, a Frenchman that fell in love with Romania and decided to work and live in Buzau.

What’s the story of “One Beer Later”?

FX: Being a home brewer for 20 years, the idea to start a craft brewery has been always in my mind. After I left Romania for France a few years ago, a Romanian friend phoned me and said that's time to start a craft brewery in Romania. First, I didn't believe him but he was right, there are many craft breweries presently and they perform well. With Ionut that I had met through Enduro (n.r. motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses), we both share the same need for adventure and drive for good quality, we decided to create our own craft brewery in Buzau. One Beer Later is the beginning of a story for us and our happy drinkers. The idea behind it is what will you become “One Beer Later”?

What makes you different and unique? What about “Drink Different”?

FX: Quality of our beers and branding. Do you like our design? You will love our beers, I believe. Each one has his preferences, but everybody agrees today that the craft beers offer much more flavors than those offered by conventional breweries. Knowing that there are many hot months in Romania, we have invested a lot to keep our beers fresh so that the quality will not be affected during transport. This allows us to not pasteurize and thus keep the good flavors. To ferment for a long time and not to filter the beer also improve the taste quality. Our fermentation and bottling equipment has been chosen for this purpose as well. In fact, every moment in the life of our beers has been carefully planned and designed to preserve their tastes. But all these efforts would be useless if our raw materials were not chosen from the best producers and well preserved. During the day or in the warm evenings, I would recommend dry beers (not very sweet, I must say) with low alcohol content and low phenols (those that are very present in Belgian beers, for example). This is the characteristic of One Beer Later beers and what makes us different. Our beers are tasty, thirst-quenching and easy to drink. During the summer, blonde, amber or black, it does not matter if they are well fermented beers and not too much alcohol as we brew.

Who’s your target audience and what do Dali, Einstein and ancient Egypt have in common with your buyers? 

FX: Our clients are 35-45 years old and also under 30 years urban people. And also women, we had the surprise to discover that Wooow, our black beer, is loved by women as well! Literally One Beer Later, we hope that our happy drinkers will get some great revelation in their life or just some awesome ideas towards some life changing alternatives, at least. Becoming a genius is at their fingertips. That’s the reason behind it.

What’s the role of marketing in your company? What do you expect from your marketing collaborators or staff?

FX: Now, our marketing goal is to increase the reputation of One Beer Later and transform it into more beer sales. This should be done through digital communication (press and social media), spreading the word through national communications such as press reports, interviews, brewer events, food events, digital pictures-videos and marketing objects. The marketing person that we are currently looking for keeps a close relationship with the brewery and with our customers. We are a craft producer, our customers should have a person to person communication and our consumers should feel in direct communication with the brewers.

How will you support the marketing activities and promises from inside? 

FX: I'm in charge of the administration of the company and I have a permanent eye on the communication. I will work with the marketing specialist. Ionut, the businesses associate in charge of sales, validates each new strategy with me. We have a dedicated budget for communication and marketing which will grow with our beer sales.