Stag celebrates 50 years

This year, even as Stag celebrates its 50th anniversary in grand style it has significant plans for its post-covid19 recovery and growth.

In an interview with Business Day, Stag’s brand manager Marc Chan Chow said 2022 was a year of celebration, one that was rightfully deserved, after having endured a tough two years due to the covid19 pandemic.

He said in addition to the celebration, the company is reconnecting with its customers while seeking new ways to propel growth.

“It is really an exciting time for Stag. We are a regional and global brand, so we are trying to grow as a brand, share our ideals and get people involved.

“Some countries include Grenada, St Kitts, Guyana, Canada and we a focusing on the countries we are already in to make the brand more popular. We do have plans to enter other Caribbean islands and Latin America.”

Chan Chow said the pandemic has had an impact on the company’s prices, but Stag was able to absorb most of the price shocks for a long time with minor changes.

“Shipping rates doubled throughout the pandemic, but it was something that the company held on to and we absorbed those costs. We had a very minor price change.

“Because of how unpredictable things are, I don’t want to say that we are going to stick to something, but as of now we have no plans to introduce any increases.”

In June, Stag launched Chanthem, a road show. The idea was to get customers to chant its songs and slogans, in a manner like what was done at football games.

“It is something we want them to sing proudly and engage with the brand and have fun with. We have interesting partners for this campaign. We have Kernel Roberts, Jiaga TC, Akeem 5.0, GI, Salty...so it’s a big group.

“We are celebrating for the rest of the year. We will be out on Saturdays. It is called STAGger-days, where we go into different bars and patrons will have a chance to interact with us to get feedback while having fun.”

Chan Chow said the celebrations will be very interactive and will include competitions, games, singing and original song compositions to their Chanthem rhythm.

He said while some may frown on the consumption of alcohol, Stag has been a pioneer in the field through its activism and constant messaging of responsible drinking.

“We never promote over consumption and on our bottles, there is the ‘at ease’ symbol, which is our responsibility motto.

“Over the years Stag has changed in terms of look and value. Stag has stood up for a lot of rights in Trinidad and Tobago; in particular, we stood up with our Live Right campaign, where we fought against domestic violence, and we addressed mental health issues. So, the brand has changed over time and we have tackled very difficult topics, while maintaining our fun nature because we are a beer brand.

“A lot of people think that (drinking) beers means you need to (be) macho, but Stag has actually broken-down barriers to make people feel comfortable to express themselves, especially where mental health is concerned.”

Chan Chow urged men and women to hold each other accountable where there was information or instances of domestic abuse and violence.

He said too many times there have been instances where people turned a blind eye and the result has been fatal.