Matthew Daneman

Staff writer

North American Breweries CEO John K. %22Kris%22 Sirchio begins his third day on the job with a tour of Genesee Brewery

Sirchio replaces outgoing CEO Rich Lozyniak.

If you drink beer, these are the best of times. Grocery and convenience store shelves practically sag with options and styles unheard of a generation ago.

If you make beer, times are a little more mixed. The overall U.S. beer market was down roughly 2 percent in 2013, according to trade group the Brewers Association. The traditional beer giants are seeing sales eaten away by everything from the craft beer boom to flavored vodkas and hard ciders — according to market research firm Mintel, there were more new wine product launches in 2013 than all alcoholic product launches combined in 2009.

None of which seems to concern the new head of North American Breweries much.

"The number one thing I always think about is how do you make our consumers happy, how do you delight them, and how do you delight your partners? If you're doing those things, everything else takes care of itself," John K. "Kris" Sirchio said Wednesday, his third day on the job heading up one of the largest brewing companies in the nation. "It's a competitive market. It's a tough industry. At the same time, if you're better, if you're coming up with great ideas that delight consumers, they'll reward you."

Sirchio, formerly an executive at liquor giant Brown-Forman Corp., said when he was approached by a search firm about the CEO opening at Rochester-based North American, "What really attracted me to come to North American Breweries was growth. Fantastic opportunities for growth. We have fantastic brands and people. The pride you can see in the organization. And a fantastic new owner."

North American last year was the sixth largest brewing company in the nation, based on sales volume, according to rankings from industry trade group Brewers Association. Bought 18 months ago by Costa Rica-based food and beverages company Florida Ice & Farm Co., North American includes Rochester's iconic St. Paul Street Genesee Brewing Co., Vermont's Magic Hat Brewing Co., and the U.S. rights to the Labatt and Imperial beer lines.

"Throughout my career in consumer packaged goods, I've been leading businesses in building brands for almost 25 years," Sirchio said. "For me, it really is about a growth mindset in driving brands. Because you create value though brands. And we have tremendous portfolio of strong brands in all segments of the industry and we have a great opportunity to build and leverage those. You've got to bring those assets to life and bring them relevant. I've got examples from all different aspects of businesses and brands where I've done that. And we're going to do that again here. I can't wait to get started. It's going to be outstanding."

Sirchio, 48, talked brand growth; the intersection of environment and business; and his own beer preferences in an interview with the Democrat and Chronicle:

D&C: How do build all those individual brands?

Kris Sirchio: It's really about a growth mindset. That's not something that just happens — you have to build it and nurture it. The first thing is you have to excite and delight your consumers. That's where you create the value. The second piece is innovation. You've got to bring innovation across all aspects of the business, not just product and packaging but everything we do. The third is our brand portfolio. You have to strengthen and leverage the brands we have. And fourth, if you can make it easier to buy and sell our brands, then when consumers vote in front of the shelves, you're going to win.

D&C: So what do you do with North American in those four areas?

KS: You've got to go back and understand the core values of those brands — what do those brands stand for. We have tremendous pride with Genesee Beer, with Genesee Cream Ale — just phenomenal stories people have. The more you can understand the emotional connection and bring that to life in ways that touch folks, you win.

We should talk about (Florida Ice & Farm's) "triple bottom line" strategy. Part of that is winning with communities. And brands that can win with communities ... will build a deeper connection. Were doing that with our (High Falls) Brew House. We've been working with charities, raising over $70,000 with local charities. That's how brands connect.

D&C: What does (Florida Ice & Farm) expect in terms of growth results?

KS: They are investors and builders. Those are folks who really know beer and have been investing into businesses and growth consistent with a long-term mindset. Their triple bottom line philosophy is about delivering profits, really being environmental stewards, and building and connecting with communities. That management philosophy is something we want to bring with NAB. You constantly look at energy reduction, waste management, water. Those will drive to the bottom line and ... then people will want to be more loyal to your brands. Growth as a growth mindset has to be across all aspects of the business. It's not just about the dollars.

D&C: Growth across all aspects of the company, does that include personnel? Does that include other brands?

KS: It includes brands and people for sure.

D&C: So as this company pursues a growth strategy, that work would be done here?

KS: It depends on the assets that we have and the brands we're building. Absolutely we want to invest in growth in the Genesee Brewery. And if there are opportunities in other places, we'll look at that as it makes sense.

D&C: What is the growth strategy as it relates to retailers?

KS: We have a great council of retail partners and distributors. I'll be meeting them next week and I'll be listening to their needs and what they believe is important to grow the brands with their business and customers. There's a lot of understanding I need to get under my belt right now. It goes back to, how do you make it easier to buy and sell our brands. How do you excite our partners and excite consumers to vote at the shelf? It's constant innovation. You cant sit back.

D&C: What are the challenges, what are the difficult parts to making this all happen?

KS: You've got to continually figure out, how do you bring innovation all the time? You've got to be constantly connected and relevant to consumers and your partners. If your partners aren't seeing you're bringing new stuff ... If the community sees you doing great new things, and they know you're doing things for the environment, in today's world that stuff is all connected. If you want to grow, you have to keep doing all those things.

D&C: What do you drink?

KS: I love Genny Cream Ale.

D&C: Where you a Genny Cream Ale drinker before taking this job?

KS: I'd tried it before when I was growing up and my first jobs as a young professional. I've been in the spirits industry the last several years so you find your way in that side of the equation. Even this past week when we went out for dinner with our leadership team, it just feels great in your hand. It's a great-tasting great-quality product and you just love to hold it.

MDANEMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/mdaneman

John K. 'Kris' Sirchio

Occupation: CEO, North American Breweries

Age: 48

Experience: 2009-2012, chief marketing officer at Brown-Forman Corp. 2004-2009, global head of professional products at Syngenta AG. Prior to that, 13 years at Procter & Gamble in various marketing leadership positions.

Personal: Wife, Wendy; two children Noah, 11, and daughter Sophia, 8.

North American Breweries Inc., at a glance

Headquarters: 445 Saint Paul St., Rochester

Ownership: Part of Florida Ice & Farm Co., a Costa Rica-based food and beverage company.

Employs: 1,200, including roughly 800 in Rochester

Footprint: Along with the Genesee brewery, it also runs breweries in Vermont, Washington, California, and Oregon

Brands: Include the Genesee, Dundee, Pyramid, and Magic Hat beer lines; Seagram's Escapes; MacTarnahan's Amber Ale. It also has U.S. rights to Imperial and to the Labatt line of beers.