New and innovative products have helped contribute to SKU proliferation throughout the beverage industry, particularly within the craft beer and craft spirits markets. However, as these craft brewers and distillers look to push the envelope with their new releases, ingredient suppliers are looking to provide them with the tools they need to maintain that edge in the market.

“Customers are most interested in what is new and exciting, as the competition is intense in the beer market, and innovation is seen as a key factor in the success of the current front-runners,” says Ron Ryan, account executive with Minneapolis-based Cargill Malt, a division of Cargill. “Customers also are looking for more and more for consistency of their raw material supply as they grow and become more sophisticated.”