Local beer brand SouthNorte, established in 2016, now has a new VP of sales and marketing and a new commercial.
Breanne Heal brings nearly a decade of sales and marketing experience from Constellation Brands, well known locally for their purchase of Ballast Point in 2015. Before Constellation Brands, she worked at Diageo USA; in terms of scale, SouthNorte is a big change.
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“The nimbleness and flexibility as a small company is outstanding,” she said, something that’s been especially important in dealing with the current landscape. “Prior to COVID, 80% of our business was on-premise. With that coming to a very drastic halt in March, we had to quickly pivot to off-premise,” selling to grocery chains, liquor stores, and other small markets. Now, 80% of SouthNorte sales is at those off-premise businesses.
SouthNorte’s beer production is helmed by Ryan Brooks and takes place at Coronado Brewing’s Knoxville Street location. Eventually, the company will search out a permanent production facility of their own. SouthNorte also operates a smaller brewhouse in Tijuana, but making beer there is not a top priority at the moment.
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“San Diego is where we were born. We’re doing the work to solidify ourselves in our home market here,” said Heal, who worked with ad agency Gallegos United to create a new SouthNorte commercial which is now airing in San Diego and Baja (Connected TV, San Diego NBC, FOX, and Univision).
The ad features Sea Señor, a Mexican-style lager, which won a gold medal at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival. The company also makes Agavemente Hibiscus Lager and No Güey Mango IPA. In September, they’ll debut a new West Coast-style IPA, followed by two more beers in October and November.