Craft beer brands: leveraging collaborative business systems for sustainable brand building

Purpose This research advances the conceptualisation of sustainable craft beer branding as network brand identity building, framing the symbolic and narrative function of collaborative business systems. Design/methodology/approach A revelatory case study of an Italian craft brewery located in Northern Italy was conducted. The case, selected for its exemplary and theory-building potential, offers in-depth insights into network brand communication and its role in sustainable branding. Findings Three core brand values emerged as central to the brewery's sustainable brand identity: radical innovation, human passion and place engagement. These values are embedded within the firm's network of partners, which plays a pivotal role in brand storytelling. The analysis identified different types of business partners across knowledge and innovation networks, production and supply chains, and local business networks. While local networks are usually central to craft beer brands, this study found that a geographically unbounded knowledge and innovation network was symbolically the most relevant. Originality/value The originality of this research lies in shifting the perspective from a “stand-alone” brand identity to a network brand identity within sustainable branding studies. This study offers theoretical and managerial insights into how craft breweries and potentially other food firms can leverage their partner networks symbolically and reframe the authenticity-innovation relationship in the sustainable craft beer brand concept.