According to 2018 IRI sales, Lord Hobo increased its volume in national grocery, convenience, and other stores, as well as Massachusetts liquor stores, by 50%. In those Massachusetts liquor stores alone, the brewery’s growth was at 64% last year. Looking at the rolling, 52-week period from mid-June 2018 to mid-June 2019 reveals a different perspective, however. Lord Hobo’s portfolio of beers was only up 3% (national chains, plus Massachusetts liquor stores) or 5% in-state (Massachusetts liquor stores) compared to the previous year.

Bill Dillon, vice president of sales for Lord Hobo, said that retail outlets are the "main driver" of the company's sales strategy. Volume shipped to those stores is up almost 20% in 2019, he notes, although that reflects the amount of beer sent to stores, not necessarily what's being bought by customers, which is what shows up in IRI data. He tells GBH that some IRI information may be off because some brands weren't registered properly with the market research firm.

That said, there’s also Lord Hobo’s renovated, 180-max-capacity taproom, which opened in November 2018, to help drive profitable, on-site business. The brewery’s 617 New England-style IPA is also sold at the Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Park, where Lanigan says the beer is the #2 seller behind only Bud Light. Lord Hobo is also sold at the Encore Boston Harbor casino.

But these various sales avenues don’t represent Lord Hobo’s main push to move a projected 50,000 BBLs. Instead, the brewery is depending on retail outlets and new pricing strategies implemented in April.

Listed prices for several packaged beers have dropped significantly in the past year. Variety packs of 12oz IPA cans decreased from $34 in September 2018 to $30 today; a case of 16oz cans of Virtuoso New England-Style Hazy Double IPA dropped from $75.50 in December 2018 to $71.95; a case of 12oz cans of Hobo Life Session IPA went from $36.50 in October 2018 to $32.50 in December, and was most recently listed at $25.50.

Freebird Golden Ale, a new release that sells in 18-packs, is being sold to retailers at $15 per pack for the first 24. That price drops to $14 a pack for those ordering 25 or more, then again to $13 for orders of 40 or more. That last price, for context, is $4.32 per six-pack, prior to a retailer markup.

“From a manufacturing perspective, [Freebird] helps gobble up fixed overhead costs so everything else we have can be more profitable,” Dillon says, pointing at production cost efficiencies. “As our volume starts to increase, our costs start to decrease, and we’ve taken a hard look at how we can pass along those savings to retailers and customers.”

The former Lord Hobo employee who asked to remain anonymous says that a focus on costs did get more attention in recent months, although they claim that came in the form of budgets being cut, delayed payments to vendors, and increased pressure to move volume. "Pumping the market with new products is a temporary fix; it’s not sustainable," they say.

The brewery’s plays for additional volume, and attempts to find new ways to shift its beer in-store and on-site, clearly show a company looking to grow aggressively. As highlighted by Tony Robbins, the brewery is hoping to go “from a $10-million company to a billion-dollar company in 10 years.” That said, the recent departures among its sales, marketing, and taproom leadership are just the latest in a string of personnel losses. Lindsay Berk, who served as vice president of marketing from June 2017 to January 2019, and Rick Maher, chief commercial officer from March 2016 to September 2018, both recently exited the company.

Day notes that other large breweries that have grown quickly in recent years didn’t get rid of key positions to meet their goals—especially not positions that are so tied to moving product. Rhinegeist Brewery (which has been one of the few large breweries to show consistent growth in recent years), Night Shift Brewing (expanding quickly in Massachusetts), and Tree House Brewing Company (adding new production spaces) have all experienced strong growth without sacrificing tenured staff, he says.

“I don’t think it’s natural or normal, but it can obviously happen,” Day says.

Howes says that he was excited to join Lord Hobo because he knew the financial backing from Lanigan’s startup and PE money offered significant growth opportunity. Having formerly worked as an account manager in central New Jersey for Anheuser-Busch, he was thrilled to move to “a smaller brewery that had a family feel to it.” At work and at home, Howes says he proudly represented Lord Hobo, whether by sporting company clothing or talking about his love for the brand with friends.

“A sudden change is difficult, and when you don’t see it coming, it’s hard to understand, but I understand that’s part of the industry,” he says. “But if you don’t have the staffing power where you need it, the other challenge is how competitive the market can get if you don’t have people out there all the time excited to represent the brand.”