A new Black-owned craft beer may be hitting the shelves at a Walmart near you very soon. Thanks to Walmart merchant Adrienne Freeman, Black Is Beautiful craft beer will be on the shelves of 300 Walmart locations across the United States.
“In a market where there are over 8,000 breweries in the US, yet fewer than 70 of them are Black-owned breweries, this was something that immediately caught my eye,” the Walmart merchant told AfroTech.
“Their portfolio showcased a brewer who was clear on their brand personality, keen on the types of high growth styles the market is demanding, and had figured out their specialty and gained a strong reputation for it. On top of making good liquid, they mastered the marketing component by creating product names that made you want to stop and check out their lineup. I knew they had all of the elements that Walmart customers would be looking for.”
Black Is Beautiful is the latest beer to come out of Weathered Souls Brewing Co., a Black-owned brewery in San Antonio, Texas. As a Black-owned company in a predominantly white industry, support from Black merchants like Adrienne Freman is pivotal for success and expansion.
“When I learned about their Black is Beautiful project, I was inspired by their commitment to making a change in local communities. Our customers care about shopping local brands because of the direct impact it provides to their communities, which is a key reason we’re dedicated to accelerating the growth of our craft beer assortment,” Freeman explained.
Black Is Beautiful hitting Walmart shelves is one of the many changing aspects of the beer industry. In recent months, British beer maker Diageo pledged $10 million to historically Black colleges and universities. In Arizona, Tyler Smith is poised to start the state's first Black-owned brewing company, Kitsune Brewing Company. Budweiser also launched a scholarship program to support Black students entering the industry last year. Collectively, these moves are just part of the first step toward reclaiming an industry that began on the continent of Africa centuries ago.
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