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

The craft beer sector has undergone a significant global renaissance in recent decades, evolving from a niche market to a well-established economic sector. This transformation has been widely discussed in academic and professional debates, highlighting the impact of craft breweries on local economies, cultural heritage and sustainable business models (Argent, 2018). Craft breweries emphasise authenticity and leverage place identity by creating cultural, historical, and economic links between a territory, local communities and products. They achieve this through the use of local raw materials, regional brewing traditions and territorial narratives (Gatrell et al., 2018; Chamizo et al., 2025).

Sustainability has progressively become central to craft beer positioning in competitive markets, differentiating small producers from large industrial producers focused on large-scale production and standardisation (Gatrell et al., 2018). Craft breweries rely on short supply-chain, local products and raw materials from organic farming, representing “an effective means of promoting and enhancing the areas in which they operate, actively contributing to the well-being and development of their communities” (Cipollaro et al., 2021, p. 2). Partnerships are vital for small breweries, enabling projects that promote a new culture of production and consumption based on quality products, social solidarity and the enhancement of local cultural heritage (Sforzi and Colombo, 2020).

Research has overlooked the interplay between business partners and craft beer branding, which instead can be crucial to nurturing and spreading sustainable consumption and production practices in the sector. A company-centred approach has prevailed in branding, emphasising the brand identity as a projection of the company's identity, as the combination of “what” and “how” the organisation does (Balmer, 2017). However, literature suggests that brands are profoundly shaped by network interactions with stakeholders, including suppliers, customers and institutional partners (Ballantyne and Aitken, 2007; Siano et al., 2022). The firm's network can be even more relevant for SMEs than for large corporations (Mäläskä et al., 2011), as co-created brands pool a richer and more nuanced set of brand meanings and may deliver a more credible, collective vision for sustainability.

Collaborative systems of partners are strategic for SMEs not only as a means to access skills, knowledge, markets and innovation opportunities, but also as valuable symbolic resources for identity building (Christopher and Gaudenzi, 2009; Mäläskä et al., 2011). Despite growing interest in collaborative networks for brand creation, there remains a significant research gap in examining how SMEs' networks contribute to sustainable brand building. This is particularly relevant for firms such as craft beer producers, which rely heavily on authenticity and place identity as core elements of their brand value proposition (Mäläskä et al., 2011; Runfola et al., 2024).

This study aims to conceptualise sustainable craft beer branding as network brand identity building, addressing how and to what extent collaborative business systems can serve as symbolic and narrative assets for sustainable brands. An exploratory qualitative study is presented, focused on an Italian craft brewery brand founded in a small village in the Langhe region, Northern Italy. The findings highlight how the brewery's sustainable brand identity is closely tied to its ability to nurture active and diversified business partnerships.

The paper is structured as follows. The next section introduces sustainable branding and its framing within the craft beer field. Afterwards, SME branding is discussed, highlighting the shift from company-centred approaches to network-based brand-building frameworks. The qualitative study is then presented, leading to theoretical and managerial implications for sustainable craft beer branding.

The craft beer revolution (Hindy, 2014; Sforzi and Colombo, 2020; Chirakranont and Sakdiyakorn, 2022) has reshaped the brewing industry. It marks the rise of small and microbreweries that use traditional production methods, avoiding pasteurisation to preserve natural flavours (Rosales et al., 2021). Craft breweries are independent, operating autonomously from large corporations and with a certain degree of decision-making freedom.

Although rooted in local values and traditions, craft breweries drive innovation in the industry for their ability to vary and innovate the production process, ingredients, techniques of fermentation and experiment new styles and recipes (Argent, 2018; Gatrell et al., 2018). The master brewer is a skilled expert who creates new beers, unique products in terms of taste and quality. Unlike industrial beer, which relies on highly automated and standardised processes, craft brewing allows the master brewer the freedom to experiment and adapt recipes, making each beer an expression of personal style and vision (Rosales et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2024).

From a market positioning perspective, craft beer is a “hedonic product” that offers a sensory experience enriched by cultural symbolic content (Xu et al., 2024). Craft breweries are not only places where quality beer is produced, but also cultural and social hubs that strengthen the sense of local and community identity (e.g. through the use of local ingredients, traditional recipes or cultural events) (Chirakranont and Sakdiyakorn, 2022). They are manifestations of local cultural heritage due to their connection with territory and community (Hindy, 2014). Sjölander-Lindqvist et al. (2020) speak of “social terroir”, whereby entrepreneurs in the craft beer sector not only operate in a specific territory but are also influenced and shaped by the cultural, social and identity characteristics of the region. Craft beer thus represents a tangible expression of the genius loci, the unique spirit of a place, embodying values of authenticity and sustainability that appeal to both local and global consumers (Xu et al., 2024).

Craft beer brands are “place-based brands emphasiz[ing] local identity through connection to the local place where they realise their business” (Kincl et al., 2022, p. 45). Besides, the “craft beer movement” creates authentic ties with the place (people and local idiosyncrasies), becoming a cultural and identity expression. Master brewers often see themselves as part of the local community, supporting local causes, engaging with community activities and organising initiatives that reinforce local traditions and culture (Gatrell et al., 2018).

The contribution of craft breweries to local and rural development is well documented in the literature (Gatrell et al., 2018; Argent, 2018). They foster networks of enterprises in agriculture and related sectors (processing, sourcing, distribution, etc.), supporting and encouraging the development of local supply chains (Argent, 2018). Microbreweries are a driving force for the development of sustainable local production models based on the use of local and short-chain products.

These emerging traits underline the centrality of sustainability in this sector. The craft beer sector, like the broader food industry, plays an active role in achieving sustainable development goals (Venturelli et al., 2022). Sustainable practices not only reduce environmental impact but also provide strategic opportunities for value creation, differentiation, and stronger ties with local communities, as well as with global audiences increasingly concerned with sustainability (Chamizo et al., 2025).

Sustainability is an operational and organisational frontier for breweries, and a core element of their brand identity building. Craft breweries develop brand narratives that intertwine sustainable practices, local culture and territorial identity. Microbreweries develop territorial brand management, infusing a sense of place into their brands to link with cultural meanings of the place and build authenticity (Melewar and Skinner, 2020). Sustainable branding is not simply a matter of market differentiation; it also enables craft breweries to engage stakeholders (local producers, suppliers, peer breweries, local communities, investors and consumers) in building a relationship with the brand and its vision (Alonso et al., 2017; Chamizo et al., 2025).

SMEs may have limited resources and the dependence upon the resources and expertise of others may be significant. This is why business networks have attracted much scholarly attention (Mäläskä et al., 2011). We distinguish three types of networks that are relevant to SMEs: production and supply chain networks, involving actors engaged in the operative processes of production, distribution and logistics (Runfola et al., 2024); knowledge and innovation networks, including universities, research centres and firms that develop and exchange knowledge, expertise and skills (Laperche and Liu, 2013); and local networks, defined by spatial proximity (Guercini and Runfola, 2015), including companies operating within a specific area (e.g. an industrial district). Within these networks, a focal company may act as a gatekeeper or facilitator, regulating the flow of resources, knowledge and opportunities between local and external actors.

Modalities and the extent to which business networks may be brand assets deserve further attention. Branding research has shifted towards multi-stakeholder and participatory approaches, reflecting growing awareness that stakeholders interact with the firm's brand and negotiate its meanings, bringing their perspectives and resources into the brand's service ecosystem (Simmons and Durkin, 2023). This multi-stakeholder engagement has become central in marketing, advancing a “with stakeholders” approach to value co-creation (Civera et al., 2025, p. 3254). It has proven particularly relevant in studies of sustainable brand value co-creation and in reinforcing the credibility and authenticity of organisations' sustainability commitments (Iglesias et al., 2020; Civera et al., 2025).

Brand meanings are “the result of an everchanging and often ambiguous variety of brand interpretations that arise from a multitude of actors involved in the brand building process” (Siano et al., 2022, p. 376). Beyond customers, connections and cooperation with stakeholders such as business partners, institutions and local communities are essential for increasing efficiency, strengthening competitiveness, and moving beyond traditional branding approaches centred on self-referential construction of the corporate brand (Iglesias and Ind, 2020; Siano et al., 2022).

A company is not an isolated entity but part of a broader system of relationships and collaborations that, built over time, shape and reinforce the company's identity (Christopher and Gaudenzi, 2009). Mäläskä et al. (2011) highlighted the central role of stakeholders in building brands, especially SME brands, stressing that the success depends not only on the company itself but also on the people and organisations with which it interacts. While research has mostly focused on consumers as brand co-creators, less attention has been drawn to business partners and their influence on brand building (Koporcic and Halinen, 2018; Koporcic and Tornroos, 2019). Collaborations with business partners may generate a cumulative effect in which each partner contributes to the empowerment of others, creating an evolving and interdependent system (Iglesias and Ind, 2020; Siano et al., 2022).

Academic interest in network branding has grown parallel with sustainability research (Keränen et al., 2023; Andersen et al., 2023). Engaged and motivated stakeholders may boost sustainable value co-creation, foster firms' credibility and brand accountability, enhance customer satisfaction and contribute to positive societal outcomes (Civera et al., 2025). Quality relationships with business partners are fundamental to co-creating a conscientious network brand (Iglesias and Ind, 2020; Iglesias et al., 2023; Keränen et al., 2023). For instance, one firm's product sustainability depends on the sustainability standards adopted throughout its whole supply chain and on the decisions and practices of its business partners. The growing emphasis on sustainability has led marketing research to recognise the importance of building sustainable brand networks, where each actor's identity contributes to a broader and deeper understanding of corporate values (Voola et al., 2022). These networks enable collective responses to sustainability challenges and the creation of shared value (Andersen et al., 2023).

Although the role of business networks and the involvement of various internal and external actors in promoting the sustainable corporate brand have been acknowledged (Andersen et al., 2023), research remains scant in this regard, with limited empirical explorations. Further studies are needed to develop and consolidate the conceptualisation of network brand building.

A qualitative research design was adopted to explore how and to what extent collaborative partner networks contribute to sustainable brand building in the craft beer sector. This approach enabled an in-depth understanding of brand narratives and their entanglement with the underlying system of business partners. A single-case theoretical sampling strategy was employed, following the logic of a revelatory case (Yin, 1994), to investigate the narrative and symbolic centrality of the collaborative business systems in craft beer branding. Given the limited empirical research on sustainable craft beer brands and their relationship with business networks, the case was selected as “a unique and exemplary source of insights on this topic” (Sarker et al., 2012, p. 322).

Focusing on brand communication within the broader case study made it possible to investigate a phenomenon (the emergence of a network brand identity rather than a stand-alone brand) that, although empirically evident, is not outcome of a declared or deliberate branding strategy. The in-depth case analysis provided insights into an emerging brand communication pattern that may inform and shape future sustainable branding strategies.

The selected case is an Italian craft brewery founded in the 1990s in a small town in the Langhe region of Piedmont, Northern Italy, renowned for wine production. Today, the company generates revenues of approximately 16 million Euros and distributes its products in 47 countries. It is a flagship case of a sustainable craft beer brand, a focal actor in promoting sustainable consumption and production practices within the sector. Known for its innovative approach to brewing and conceptualising the craft beer experience, the brewery has become a major player in the craft beer market and mobilised a brand community of more than 2,000 consumers who invested in equity crowdfunding to support its development projects.

The brewery's sustainability commitment is reflected in multiple dimensions: short supply chain, local ingredients, including the direct cultivation of raw materials; collaborations with local farmers to strengthen local economies; adoption of innovative technologies and processes that reduce water and energy consumption while promoting circularity in the water system; eco-design to minimise packaging impact; initiatives supporting social and cultural sustainability to foster local development in inner areas; detailed and technical communication of sustainability projects, while also engaging in projects with significant media resonance to raise awareness of pressing environmental challenges.

Data collection was conducted between January 2024 and April 2025. Multiple sources were collected for a triangulation to capture complementary perspectives on the craft beer brand, consistent with the in-depth exploratory research approach. Primary and secondary data were collected. Two brand communication channels were included in data collection: a) a podcast series promoted by the craft brewery and b) social media communication on Instagram (IG). These two media were purposefully analysed because they provide distinct yet complementary perspectives on brand communication, contributing to a more holistic understanding of the phenomenon. This is consistent with the qualitative and explorative methodology, which seeks to examine the object of analysis from multiple angles. Podcasts, as episodic and narrative-driven formats, allow the brand to articulate its vision, history and values in depth through the voice of the founder or close collaborators. They enriched the analysis with current and authentic perspectives, offering natural qualitative data that overcome some rigidities of traditional communication and provide more nuanced and contextual insights (Kulkov et al., 2024). Instagram was selected because it is currently the most widely used social media platform by craft beer brands. It has proven particularly effective in reaching target audiences (Chamizo et al., 2025) and has demonstrated a measurable influence on purchase intentions in the beer market (Lima et al., 2024). On the other hand, Instagram represents a more visual, immediate and interactive platform for brand identity building.

In addition, interviews with the entrepreneur were used, one face-to-face interview directed by the researchers and recorded interviews were available on the web. Secondary sources were collected from online news media and blog posts. Table 1 summarises the data sources.

A multi-stage analysis was conducted to generate in-depth insights from the collected data. The first stage provided an overview of the secondary sources and interviews, organising the large amount of data in a descriptive way (Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007; Ozcan et al., 2017). This stage addressed preliminary questions about the company's history, vision and engagement with sustainability. It also enhanced familiarity with the case and confirmed the “revelatory” nature of the selected case.

The second stage focused on brand communication analysis, categorising data from lower levels (brand meanings) to higher levels (thematic areas) of abstraction (Ozcan et al., 2017). It consisted of two operative phases. In Phase 1, a content analysis of the podcasts was conducted to develop a codebook of brand meanings, which were subsequently aggregated into thematic areas. Each brand meaning was then linked to the business partners mentioned in the categorised text. In Phase 2, the IG dataset was analysed through a thematic analysis to identify keywords and key topics emerging from the brewery's IG account. The collected text corpus of posts was examined through topic modelling (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) using R software (tidytext package). A qualitative content analysis complemented this, adding exploratory depth to the emerging thematic areas, clarifying their meanings and identifying the business partners mentioned.

In practice, this research combines two analytical methods commonly employed in single-case studies. On the one hand, “a simplified version of the case history” was used (Ozcan et al., 2017, p. 109), privileging a descriptive approach to framing the case study; on the other, this was combined with the aggregation of data into categories to frame the brand analysis at the core of the case study (Ozcan et al., 2017).

The third stage finalised the analysis by reconsidering all collected primary and secondary data, including interviews, online news media and blog posts, to support a broader understanding and interpretation of the brand communication analysis within the overall case context. This integrative stage enriched the results from Stage 2 by adding insights and information about projects and partners, and by incorporating the entrepreneur's perspective from the interviews. As a result, the core values of the sustainable brand identity under scrutiny were identified, along with their specific meanings within the context of the case study.

Radical innovation, human passion and place engagement are the core brand values framing the sustainable brand identity of the analysed craft brewery (Table 2). The podcast series highlighted three thematic areas articulating the brand identity: Culture, Identity & Territory (CIT), Innovation, Creativity & Market (ICM) and Passion, Experience & Community (PEC). The IG posts analysis identified the following thematic areas: Destination-Territory (DT), Italianness & Brand Community (IBC) and Event & Experience (EE).

Radical innovation is central to the brewery's brand. The brand represents an emblematic example of innovation in the craft beer sector, encompassing both product development and cultural transformation. The findings show that innovation entails establishing a new way of perceiving and consuming beer as a high-quality, artisanal and cultural product closely linked to the Italian gastronomic experience and food culture. In this sense, innovation emerged as the effort to eradicate the national collective perception of beer as a second-rate drink compared to wine in the Italian market.

In the analysed case, radical innovation also concerns the creation of a new craft beer tradition in a wine-dominated region and country. Especially in regions such as the Langhe, home to prestigious wines, introducing craft brewing in the 1980s was countercultural and visionary (“My revolution began right here in the village, [ …], in a wine area a few kilometers from Barolo-Barbaresco […] at a time when beer was not consumed”, #I3; “When I opened this space for beer and music in such a territory [ …], beer was an alien product.”, #I1).

Innovation is embodied in a multifunctional space promoted by the brewery and described as a park of Italian craft beer, where conviviality and cultural sharing are central. As the founder put it: “Beer is earth and sharing!” (#I1), encapsulating the brewery's philosophy linking beer to the agricultural origins (“earth”) while positioning it as a social catalyst (“sharing”). The multifunctional space offers guided tours of the brewery, storytelling sessions and encounters with the founder, immersing visitors in the history and philosophy of the brewery (#I1, #I4).

According to brand communication analysis, Innovation, Creativity & Market (ICM, podcast analysis) and Italiannes & Brand Community (IBC, IG posts analysis) articulate Radical innovation. ICM highlights that sustainable craft beer means innovation in products (new recipes, production techniques, experimentation with local ingredients) and in market positioning, such as combining craft beer with high gastronomy (#P5). This thematic area frames that, beyond the nostalgic appeal of traditions, the brewery stresses innovation in quality production, marketing, communication and sales, through events, multifunctional space and collaborations.

IBC emphasises the Italian character of the product, portraying a beer that recalls values, emotions, and habits linked to authentic elements of Italian culture. This topic frames the beer culture as an innovation in the national context while authenticating beer consumption in the Italian lifestyle. Examples are the stories of conviviality, such as annual hop harvests echoing traditional grape harvest, or special moments typical of Italian culture, such as special Christmas beers or beers for gatherings with friends and family. Socialisation is central to this thematic area, reinforced by posts narrating the brand community composed of loyal customers, partners and employees who identify with and are passionate about the brand standing for taste, craftsmanship and national pride.

Human passion contributes to the brand identity, narrated as the entrepreneur's passion, the craft master brewer's passion and consumers' passion. The entrepreneur's passion for his place of origin and for its cultural transformation is at the heart of the brand identity. For over fifteen years, he has welcomed customers weekly, opening the brewery's doors to customers and spending time with them, personally offering a guided tour. This was explained as a modality to share the passion for change and steer a movement around the brewery: “The revolution is not done alone […] If we talk about beer, we talk about aggregation, socialization, the way to be together, the way to share” (#I1). The master brewers' passion and the other collaborators' passion also lie at the brand core: “An artisan is a figure who brings the soul inside the product [ …]” (#I4).

Consumers' passion further strengthens the brand identity. Since the start-up phase, the brewery has cultivated a brand community of supporters, leveraging people's passion for beer and the cultural values promoted by the brewery. The crowdfunding campaign launched to financially support projects such as a circular water system and a shared brewing space hosting the company and five other craft breweries, had significant media resonance and demonstrated the brand community's loyalty and active engagement.

The Passion, Experience & Community (PEC) thematic area from the podcasts analysis supports human passion as a core brand value, framing the brand community as a network of passionate customers and brewers. The thematic areas frame the emotional relationship between the brand and the people who share values, emotions and a philosophy of life. Event & Experience (EE, IG posts analysis) also reflects passion, articulating both consumer and entrepreneurial passion while framing the meanings of innovation concerning the craft beer experience. Events at the brewery provide opportunities for socialisation and direct encounters with the founder and brewers, reinforcing the experiential dimension of the brand.

Place engagement (“beer is the land” is the brand mantra) is the third identified brand value. It refers to anchoring beer production locally, assuming responsibility for the entire production chain from cultivation to consumption. It is not merely a reference to the place of origin but a proactive contribution to sustainable development. The symbolic outcome of this commitment is the first 100% Italian beer, produced with Alpine water, Piedmontese hops, yeast grown in the internal laboratory and some spices of national origin.

The company is engaged with the local economy, supporting the revitalisation of the hosting village (“Developing and supporting business' presence in the village is very important for us because it would die without it. [The craft brewery] brings tourism, energy, and social resources to the territory”, #I5). Environmental engagement also includes investments in renewable energies, water efficiency and a closed water cycle of beer production.

Culture, Identity & Territory (CIT) is a thematic area framing Place engagement. CIT identifies craft beer as a cultural product rooted in local identity and narrating the brewery's role in the local context (i.e. Langhe region and the hosting village). CIT also intersects with the Radical innovation (see above), as beer becomes a cultural expression of Made in Italy. Craft beer is narrated as authentic because it comes from a living culture made of people – the founder, the brewery's collaborators and consumers - that legitimise the craft beer brand, despite the lack of past and history. As said in the podcast: “The revolution needs to be narrated to become part of history” (#P2).

In the IG posts analysis, the Destination-Territory (DT) theme emerged and further emphasises its place in the craft beer brand identity. It narrates both the brand's place of origin and the place as a local tourism destination. Despite lacking a historical beer tradition, the brand positions itself within a region rich in agricultural, craft traditions and productive culture. As a tourism destination, the place is represented as enabling an authentic experience in a marginal tourist area (despite being in a reputable wine region).

The brewery's collaborative partner system emerged from the podcasts and IG posts analyses. Partners include professionals (e.g. chefs, musicians, filmmakers, actors, comics artists, illustrators and writers) and organisations (e.g. peer craft breweries, craft business associations, craft food and beverage producers, local municipalities, NGOs, video and film-making companies). The IG posts analysis identified 173 partners, 20.7% of whom were located in the region (i.e. Langhe area). Most peer craft breweries and food producers were included in this group. The podcast analysis identified 18 partners, none of them local. Partnerships span three categories: supply chain network (30% of IG posts), knowledge and innovation network (38% of IG posts; 83% of podcasts) and place-based networks (19% of IG posts).

The Radical Innovation brand value is tied to a plurality of partners, including consumers (and crowdfunding investors), artists, researchers, consulting firms, NGOs, artisanal food producers, distributors, farmers, peer craft breweries, journalists and suppliers. This variety of actors suggests the degree of the firm's involvement in partnerships to generate ideas, exchange knowledge and foster creativity. These are fundamental to innovation in technological and cultural dimensions across production, marketing and consumption practices. The supply chain network is also relevant (30%) to Radical innovation, which suggests that, to communicate innovation, the craft brewery significantly refers to the involvement of operative partners in the supply chain, especially suppliers, producers and distributors.

Examples include a collaboration with a company managing the cable car and mountain stations on Mont Blanc in the Alps, to develop and commercialise a new eco-design product, a reusable beer can, to avoid waste on the mountains and protect this fragile environment (IG Post, 1/07/2022). This innovation emerged because “the two companies share guiding values: love for nature, respect for the environment and research for innovation”, as the official website states. Another example is the partnership with an internationally renowned expert in microbiology, a long-term collaboration to map Italian yeasts, find a geographical characterisation and produce hybrid (optimised) yeasts for beer production (IG Post, 30/08/2023).

The Passion brand value is built through communicating numerous involved partners (see Table 3). The knowledge and innovation network is particularly prominent (100% in podcast analysis; 38% in IG posts), showing that passion is strongly linked to collaborative experimentation and search for new ideas to improve products, processes and beer experiences. A form of passion for beer innovation can be observed in the company's brand communication (“We are proud to tell a story made of passion, ideas and cultural revolutions”, IG Post, 7/10/2022).

For Place Engagement, several partners were identified, with knowledge and innovation network playing a central role (100% in podcast analysis; 19% in IG posts). These collaborations suggest how the company communicates its contribution to local sustainable development by emphasising its role in catalysing knowledge and innovation opportunities through collaborative partnerships. An example is the partnership with a research institute to produce a new national beer entirely made from local raw materials (#P5; #P6). This development required significant collaboration with research partners having specific knowledge and expertise. The supply chain network (19%) is also represented under Place engagement, as seen in posts emphasising local farmers' role in producing beer ingredients (IG post, 07/06/2024).

The findings provide evidence of the significant symbolic and narrative contribution of collaborative business partners to the sustainable brand identity building. The craft brewery's network, its partners, projects and collaborations, as narrated in brand communication, are leveraged to offer tangible evidence of the sustainable value proposition the brand represents (e.g. the collaboration with local farmers for the first 100% Italian beer, produced with Alpine water, hops from the Piedmont fields, yeast grown in the internal laboratory, and national spices). This is the first contribution of this research, aligning with and extending Christopher and Gaudenzi's observation (2009) that companies are not isolated entities but part of extensive systems of relations and collaborations with diverse actors who help shape and strengthen their identity. Beyond supporting projects and business operations, the brewery's partners also serve as symbolic resources, sustaining the brand promise and giving substance to brand meanings.

A set of brand values emerged, such as radical innovation, human passion and place engagement. These brand values acquire specific meanings through leveraging partnering stakeholders in brand communication. As the literature suggests, branding is increasingly shaped by networks, including suppliers, customers and institutional partners (Ballantyne and Aitken, 2007; Siano et al., 2022). Partnerships provide not only strategic resources, enabling SMEs' access to skills, knowledge, markets and innovation opportunities (Mӓlӓskӓ et al., 2011), but also symbolic and narrative resources, reinforcing credible and distinctive sustainable brand storytelling.

As emerged from the findings, partners are central in the narration of the brewery's radical and open innovation approach to products, business models, beer culture and experiences (e.g. communication around the multifunctional space and the shared facility with partner breweries, which tangibly link innovation to the collaborative network). The beer cultural revolution, which lies at the core of innovation, requires widespread participation and involvement (“The revolution does not happen by itself [ …]”, #I1). The brewery communicates itself as an open and social space where people connect and network, steering forms of collective activism (e.g. crowdfunding campaigns).

Partners are crucial in narrating passion as a central brand value. Artists, journalists, chefs, musicians, actors, cartoonists, illustrators and writers contribute to the narration of an ecosystem where craft beer is a catalyst for connecting passionate individuals. These people share cultural values with the entrepreneur, the master brewer, peer brewers, partner entrepreneurs and the wider brand community. Partners are also protagonists of narratives on the place engagement, contributing to the brewery's local embeddedness (e.g. enhancement of local agriculture and the construction of the short supply chain using 100% Italian raw materials) and its environmental commitment.

According to the findings, the sustainable craft beer brand identity is embedded within multiple partners' network types, including knowledge and innovation networks, production and supply chain networks and local networks (Laperche and Liu, 2013; Guercini and Runfola, 2015; Runfola et al., 2024). Local networks, which are often considered central for leveraging local identity and fostering craft beer authenticity (Chamizo et al., 2025), are not the only collaborations shaping the brand identity. The case reveals that beyond enhancing traditions and place heritage, brand building involves reinterpretation (Xu et al., 2024) and the capacity to break away from historical paths and consolidated imaginaries (such as beer culture versus wine heritage in the examined case). In this regard, other network types make a decisive symbolic contribution to the craft beer brand identity, with particular emphasis on the knowledge and innovation network. Not constrained within local boundaries, this network reinforces the strong emphasis on innovation, a key component of the sustainable brand identity.

This research has contributed to conceptualising sustainable craft beer branding by drawing attention to the symbolic and narrative centrality of the collaborative business system. The theoretical contribution unfolds at two levels. First, it highlights a shift from a “stand-alone” brand identity towards a network brand identity perspective on the sustainable brand. While this study has focused on a craft beer brand, the proposed perspective may be relevant more broadly to SMEs and micro-firms in the food and beverage industry (and potentially beyond). Through their embeddedness in partner networks, such firms can pool symbolic assets and narrative elements to communicate their sustainability commitment more effectively, providing tangible evidence of partners, projects and relationships that support the sustainability mission. This network brand identity (implying a shift from the self-referential “I do” to the collaborative “We do”) may enhance brand credibility and trust among stakeholders (e.g. customers, actual and potential business partners), an emerging hypothesis that deserves further exploration.

Second, the study offers insights into the craft beer brand as a sustainable brand. This explorative research highlighted brand values such as radical innovation, human passion and place engagement as domains of meaning. In particular, innovation emerged not only in technological terms but also in entrepreneurial and cultural practices oriented to sustainable production and consumption, with knowledge partners such as universities and research institutes playing a central role. These findings suggest the opportunity to frame the authenticity-innovation relationship for sustainable craft beer brands. Authenticity in craft beer is linked to place identity, regional brewing traditions, traditional local raw materials and local community narratives (Gatrell et al., 2018; Rosales et al., 2021; Chirakranont and Sakdiyakorn, 2022; Chamizo et al., 2025). Adding to existing literature, this research points to the need to reinterpret authenticity by integrating innovation as a strategic narrative resource. Knowledge and innovation partners can strengthen this connection, helping to construct a distinctive link between place and brand identity.

Beyond theoretical implications, this research advances important managerial insights. For SMEs and micro-firms building sustainable brands, networks of partners are symbolic and narrative resources that can be integrated into brand communication to strengthen the sustainable value proposition and make it potentially more tangible and credible. In this regard, brand managers should consider leveraging the company's collaborative business system as a “reason to believe” – in the branding technical sense – that is, an element reinforcing the credibility of the brand positioning and, consequently, the company's concrete commitment to sustainability. How to build a credible storytelling about the network brand identity requires further attention. Extending the narrative beyond local networks emerges as a promising way to reinforce credibility and authenticate the craft beer brand, creating an innovative connection between the brand and the place identity.

This study is not without limitations. The single case study represents an initial exploratory step, giving in-depth empirical insights and casting the foundation for theory building from the network brand identity perspective in sustainable branding. However, the achieved empirical results are not generalisable, consistent with the adopted methodological approach and the theoretical advancements need refinement and further conceptual elaboration. Future research can consolidate these emerging insights.

Comparative studies across different geographical and cultural contexts could expand the conceptualisation of sustainable network branding and clarify how collaborative business systems contribute to sustainable brand building in diverse settings. Such inquiries could reach insights into the cultural dimensions that influence how sustainable branding is conceived, practiced and received by brand stakeholders, especially considering the deep cultural meanings embedded in food production and consumption.

Furthermore, future studies could adopt a co-creative perspective, analysing the emergence of network brand meanings through the communication of diverse partners. On the other hand, the impact of network brand communication on company stakeholders remains an open field for advancing knowledge on the network perspective in sustainable branding, within the craft beer sector and, more broadly, in the food industry.