Premium nonalcohol beer brand Bero, which is co-founded by ‘Spider-man’ actor Tom Holland, is using a paid membership model to help drive repeat purchases.
Bero is untapping a niche for itself: premium nonalcoholic beer.
The brand launched in October 2024 with actor Tom Holland as the co-founder. Bero is targeting affluent consumers who are transitioning to more intentional living, said Cécile Peters, vice president of digital and ecommerce. Bero positions itself as a great tasting beer, that happens to have low alcohol. A six-pack of its nonalcohol beer is about $11.99, which is roughly the same as a craft beer six pack.
Loyalty is a core tenant to Bero’s marketing strategy, which is unusual for a new brand, said Peters, who spent six years at Moët Hennessy.
“Lifetime value of a consumer is really key in beverage because you are competing with so many brands,” she said. “Consumers have so much choice that loyalty is key to win the long-term game.”
Bero’s tiered membership model
Bero has a tiered loyalty program, called Club Bero, with a free level and $55 annual paid level. Of all consumers in its database, 40% are free members and 5% are paid members. The remaining 55% are signed up for emails but have yet to create a membership account. Peters declined to share the number of consumers in its programs.
Free members receive free shipping at $50 and VIP customer support, among other perks. Paid members receive free shipping on every order and such perks as Q&A sessions with Tom Holland, early access to products and 10% off every purchase.
“This is a product that has a low average order value,” Peters said. “You can build your business if you drive repeat purchases. And in order to create repeats, you need at least two ingredients. You need a great product, which we have, and then you need an additional reason to choose that brand versus another brand. And that’s what we’re trying to do with Club Bero, is really welcome any consumers to our extended world that goes beyond just the transactional and the liquid aspect.”
Both levels of membership allow shoppers to accumulate points for their purchases, whether that’s from its website, or at other merchants, Peters said. The majority of Bero’s sales are at retailers, which includes Target, Total Wine, Sprouts, Amazon, Erewhon and Dry Drinker.
Loyalty points give perks to shoppers and the marketing team
Products have a QR code that customers can scan to add the purchase and subsequent points to their account. This allows shoppers to accumulate points wherever they buy and allows Bero to better track its customers.
“Retail is great, but you don’t get a lot of insight on who is buying,” Peters said. “This is a way for us to really understand better who we are selling to and who is purchasing Bero.”
For example, the brand could develop different personas for its marketing channels about how often shoppers are purchasing offline and at which stores.
It plans to enhance its membership program more to help drive repeat purchasing. Today, about 10-12% of its customers are repeat buyers, which Peters said is a good rate for a new brand that is still working to acquire customers.
Bero’s future marketing plan to send push notifications
Another way Bero is aiming to drive repeat purchases is through having a Wallet Pass that its iPhone customers can add to their Apple Wallet. The “vast majority” of its loyalty members have an iPhone and about 10% of its customers have added Bero’s Wallet Pass to their device.
The addition of the Wallet Pass allows Bero to send push notifications. For example, by using a shopper’s location, Bero could send a push notification if the consumer is passing a store that it knows sells its product. Another example is if Bero knows a particular shopper buys every 25 days but hasn’t placed their order after 30 days. It could send the alert, “Time to refill your fridge,” Peters said.
“It is really an additional way for us to get connected to the consumer and staying relevant, top-of-mind wherever they buy,” she said. “We don’t really see DTC and retail being channels that compete to each other, but more like different ways or different use cases for consumers.”
Bero has yet to send any push notifications. Also in the future, the brand wants to allow shoppers to use their membership points at retail stores. Currently, customers can only redeem their perks when purchasing on Berobrewing.com.
The marketing strategy behind Bero’s latest beer The Double Tasty
Bero debuted with three SKUs and in May launched another, The Double Tasty, a West Coast Style IPA.
In the month leadup to the release, Bero began teasing the new product to build excitement and to reward its loyalty club members.
On May 14, Bero hosted a virtual question-and-answer session with Tom Holland, which 60% of its paid club members joined to ask the actor questions.
The Q&A helped build momentum because the next day, May 15, program members (both free and paid) could pre-order the product. A whopping 58% of its program members did.
The Double Tasty officially launched on June 1, which is Tom Holland’s birthday.
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