More Kroger outlets installing in-store beer taps

CINCINNATI — Kroger is tapping in-store beer stations and tastings in the supermarket chain’s latest push to drive customer traffic.

This fall, customers at two Kroger (KR) stores in the Cincinnati area will be able to buy or bring in their own growlers to fill with craft beers fresh from in-store taps.

More stores in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky-Dayton market are also on tap to get the taps. Kroger also plans to serve wine at the beer taps stations.

The beer offerings are part of a national push to court beer lovers. Kroger has had beer stations in Arizona stores for years and more recently in Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta.

But now in 2015, Kroger has rapidly expanded beer stations to selected stores in: Lexington, Ky.; Memphis; Little Rock; Richmond, Va.; and Los Alamos, N.M. It also has added them to stores in the Pacific Northwest at its Fred Meyer and QFC chains.

“Wine and growler bars are a natural evolution for our adult beverage departments — by adding growlers, we are able to introduce our customers to new and emerging breweries that are only available on draft,” said Jason Milburn, Kroger’s national beer coordinator.

Milburn said the beer taps helps elevate Kroger and put it on discerning customers’ radar for quality offerings. “It gives our customers a great experience in store and offers them more variety, hard to find beer items, and the ability to support local breweries in an entirely new way,” Milburn said.

Kroger also will sell and fill 32-ounce and 64-ounce growlers for most beers made available. Some of the harder to find beers will only be offered in 32-ounce fills. Pints and flights for tastings will also be available for purchase.

The cost of each keg varies.

“The brewing heritage and culture is deeply rooted in Cincinnati going back to the pre-Prohibition days, when Christian Moerlein was one of the largest breweries in the country,” said Nate Wolejsza, Kroger’s beer category manager for Cincinnati and Nashville. “Local breweries like MadTree, Rhinegeist, Rivertown, and Mount Carmel have helped put Cincinnati back on the map as one of the fastest growing craft beer towns in the country.”

Kroger joins grocery chains such as Whole Foods Market (WFM) and Wegmans as stores that are increasingly adding beer taps inside. In the recently opened Wegmans in Alexandria, Va., The Pub at Wegmans features exclusive beers, according to the Washington Post.

Higher quality and a broadening selection of beer is the latest example of Kroger’s Customer 1st strategy.

Kroger launched the plan in 2003 amid rising competition from non-traditional rivals led by Walmart. While other supermarkets nearly bankrupted themselves trying to undercut Walmart’s prices, Kroger lowered prices but also expanded product offerings.

Kroger has since grown market share for 11 ½ years straight with 46 consecutive quarters of identical supermarket sales growth excluding fuel, an industry metric that tracks growth excluding new or closed stores.