USA: Beer will regain momentum in 2006 through innovation

Beer has traditionally been the grocery channel’s largest beverage alcohol category. While beer constituted 54 % of alcohol sales in 2005, sales stalled compared to the previous year, ACNielsen, the world’s leading authority on consumer behavior, has recently announced. In 2006, beer will undergo a major makeover as manufacturers attempt to revive waning sales by changing the way people think about beer.

An ACNielsen Homescan™ analysis of adult beverage consumers found that in 2005, beer drinkers were drinking less, demonstrated further by the fact that beer volume sales were down 0.4 percent. Another challenge to beer’s supremacy: its key demographic, 21-34 year olds, traded their beer for other types of alcohol – mostly spirits.

This year, beer is ready for a comeback. Consumers have demonstrated a desire for experimentation, and brewers are responding. Expect to see a slew of flavoring innovations designed to broaden the appeal—and usage occasions—of beer. Robust flavors like bourbon cask ale, winter ale and pumpkin spice are targeted toward core beer drinkers, while milder flavor-seekers will be pleased to see the continued launch of seasonal beers such as blueberry, strawberry passion and citrus.

“Product innovations will re-establish beer as America’s beverage,” said Nick Lake, Vice President of Business Development at ACNielsen. “In addition to new flavors and seasonal options, watch for continued packaging innovations. The success of mini-kegs and cooler packs are just two examples of innovations making it easy and desirable for people to add beer to their social occasions.”

Comparable to the growing trend among spirits and wine drinkers, beer consumers are also upscaling, thus opting for higher-priced beers. Expect to see continued growth among imports and craft beers, both among existing brands and new entrants into the market. Though these two segments account for a relatively small portion of beer sales, they are succeeding remarkably well, with imports showing an annual growth rate of 9 percent and crafts selling at a rate 7 percent higher than a year ago. The ultimate goal: increasing beer’s usage occasions by taking it from the ball game to the night club and from the couch to the dinner party. By leveraging the lavish qualities of beer, the category will likely snag some image-conscious drinkers currently loyal to wine and spirits.

About ACNielsen

ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world’s leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen’s market research, proprietary products, analytical tools, and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

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