Estrella Galicia is one of Spain’s most iconic companies and a global leader in the beverage industry, bringing its beloved brew to beer lovers around the world. The company also has different beverage brands, such as Cabreiroá, Agua de Cuevas and Fontarel. Estrella Galicia’s brands are available in more than 30 countries (from Brazil to Australia, passing by China, The Philippines and the USA only to mention a few).
Not only is Estrella Galicia a globally recognised brand, but it is also a company at the forefront of promoting digital innovation and entrepreneurship within the startup community. In 2018, Estrella Galicia launched ‘TheHop’ as its first digital innovation programme. Creating a blueprint for how corporates can support innovation, the programme was developed to test new digital business models and scale innovative digital solutions with startups.
Corporate and Startup Collaboration
With corporate backing, startups can try new things. They have the chance to test models and push innovation to the next level. For the corporate itself, it means that they can connect with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and be the leading players in new innovations in their sector. For Estrella Galicia, this has resulted in them paving the way for new developments and fresh ideas – namely in the digitalisation of restaurants and Direct-2-Consumer businesses.
Since its launch, ‘TheHop’ has built a reference programme in the industry. It paved the path for corporate innovation and digitalisation. The programme has analyzed over 1k startups, executed over 35 pilots, and involved over 50 key managers and directors. As a direct result, 80% of the startups involved have achieved 2x growth. It’s clear to see the benefits of corporate and startup collaboration for innovation and progress.
Introducing MOVE Estrella Galicia Digital
In January 2020, MOVE Estrella Galicia Digital was launched as a spin-off focusing on the future of new digital businesses and ventures. The initiative involves building new digital businesses from scratch and scaling them or investing in exciting startups of the future.
Already, the programme has created and invested in many different startups and is making waves in the future of the hospitality, D2C and food & beverage sector.
One stand out venture building project was developed in just 7 days in April 2020 – back in the early days of the pandemic: La Cervecería de la Resistencia.
During the pandemic, e-commerce took off. The sector had already been growing, but with globally imposed lockdowns in the Spring of 2020, the potential of ecommerce really took off. Startups, having inherently dynamic and agile approaches, were able to keep up with the pace and we saw many e-commerce startups skyrocket. Many have since reached unicorn status and it’s a sector with ever-increasing excitement and competition. However, for corporates, keeping up with new demands from consumers (from fast delivery times to enhanced digitalisation) proved a little trickier.
This was not the case for Estrella Galicia, though. Having established a collaborative approach and commitment to startups and innovation with TheHop and MOVE Estrella Galicia Digital, this corporate was able to approach things differently – somewhere in between the business savvy and reliability of a corporate, and the fast-thinking light-footed approach of a startup.
La Cervecería de la Resistencia was developed in just 7 days to provide Estrella Galicia with a pivotal e-commerce focus. Since its launch, it has incorporated the entire product portfolio of Estrella Galicia, has created exclusive brand merchandising, has launched a unique beer-subscription model, and developed multiple experiences that connect the consumer to the brand.
Personalised Beer Bottles
In celebration of the 2nd anniversary of Estrella Galicia’s e-commerce platform made possible by MOVE Estrella Galicia Digital – La Cervecería de la Resistencia – the firm launched a new offering of beer bottles with personalized labels and it’s been a stand out success.
Cracking open a cold beer is associated with many good feelings. Whether it be catching up with friends, a cheers to a new achievement, or simply enjoying a refreshing sip, it’s something often associated with important memories. To make it even more personal, MOVE Estrella Galicia developed this label initiative.
Customers can order, via the ecommerce site, bottles with personalized labels. It might seem simple, but it’s a major strategy. It connects consumers with the brand on a deeper level and brings a further level of engagement to iconic moments of enjoyment.
Looking Forward to the Future
Beyond the stand out milestones that MOVE Estrella Galicia Digital has been able to achieve, this approach to digital innovation has also created a new value proposition for the brand – one that is focused on positive impact and supporting independent small and medium crafters, that soon will be released
It means that in the coming months the company will increase the way they support smaller craft producers to scale and develop – which is a positive thing for the entrepreneurial ecosystem, up-and-coming innovations, and beer lovers!
Move Estrella Galicia Digital is pioneering a new way to explore and drive new digital business opportunities. Through open digital innovation and staying consistent with the original values of progress, fresh new ideas can continually be created, developed and explored.
