Massachusetts Brewery Is Crushing It With Their Merchandise

“We have been given the name of Merch King Kong by our peers,” Dino Funari, founder of Vitamin Sea Brewing says. That is because this brewery has some of the most recognizable merchandise in Massachusetts.

Chances are you’ve seen (or have) a hat or t-shirt that sports the branding “VSB,” “South Shore,” “Sea,” an ocean/sunrise vector, or a duck on it. That’s all Vitamin Sea Brewing. In fact, some of their items are so popular they fly off the shelf as soon as they are stocked. Furthermore, you can’t buy them online. They are all purchased onsite.

Weymouth, MA

Vitamin Sea Brewing opened in February of 2019. Their taproom (and headquarters) in Weymouth features twelve taps covering a wide range of craft beer styles. IPAs and stouts are also available to purchase in cans. Some of the beers vary per season, while others are more standard. The Summer IPA, currently on tap, for example, is hopped with Citra, Cascade, and Columbus hops. In addition, on tap number 12, you will find Seas and Desist Blueberry Lemonade. This is Vitamin Sea’s take on hard seltzer.

Their location has a beer garden feel where outdoor seating is available, and they typically partner with food trucks onsite at least three days per week. If you go inside VSB’s Weymouth home base, you will find a colorful wall of t-shirts adjacent to the bar and rack of hats, jackets, sweatshirts and more along the right-side wall.

The Merch Line

“Our marketing strategy happened organically. Well before we opened, I was handing out hats, t-shirts, pins, and stickers to get the word out. And it paid off. We’re constantly asked to advertise monetarily, but we see more value in getting our merch out to people or groups (musicians, athletes, media personalities) with their own audiences and fan bases, which introduces them to our brand,” Funari explains, about VSB’s intent to create such merch.

They have one of New England’s more recognizable logos. Whether you are walking in downtown Portland, ME or attending the Levitate Music and Artist Festival in Marshfield, it is likely you will see the Vitamin Sea round logo or duck along the way. People are proud to represent the passion that Vitamin Sea pours into everything they do. Wearing their gear also shows pride in where you are from.

Here, Funari will take us inside the taproom to provide some insight into this killer Vitamin Sea Brewing merch.

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  "We love the South Shore and we’re proud of it. We’ve plastered that on hats and shirts and see them out in the wild everywhere. Funnily, our North Shore guests started to ask for the love so we made a small run of hats for them!"

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  "Our duck designs are by far our most popular and sell out as soon as we stock them. People want anything and everything with the duck logo on it - we’ve also had variations of the duck, including a skeleton duck for Halloween. We’ve created some fun characters that translate well to merch. The duck just took on a mind of its own."

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  "We’ve tried to condition people to see our logo and associate that with our brand. We also made sure to go with a round logo as that can be used in so many ways as it applies to merch. I wanted it to be 'vectorish' to be more recognizable. Everybody knows the Nike swoosh without seeing the word Nike. Even in our taproom the words Vitamin Sea Brewing aren’t prevalent."
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  "We’ve always treated VSB as a lifestyle brand that people from different hobbies or activities can relate to. We’re popular with surfers, golfers, yogis, runners, and mountain bikers. That has helped us bring our brand beyond just beer."

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  Vitamin Sea Brewing is open seven days per week. You can check their 'events' tab at VitaminSeaBrewing.com for live music at the taproom. To get your own VSB merch visit them at 30 Moore Road in Weymouth.