Women and Beer

Linköping University | Department of Management and Engineering Master Thesis in Business Administration, 30 credits | International Business and Economics Programme Spring 2018 | ISRN-number: LIU-IEI-FIL-A--18/02797--SE Women and Beer A potential love story? Hampus Kalderén Yannick Lindqvist Supervisor: Per Frankelius Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden +46 013 28 10 00, www.liu.se I Preface We would like to thank Per Frankelius, our supervisor, for all the help he has provided throughout this project. His insights, advices, recommendations and most of all his positive energy helped us reach the finish line. We would also like to thank our interviewees, Emma, Frida and Camilla from FemAle, Isabella Ankarberg from Åbro and Lise Ljungman from New Carnegie Brewery. Additionally, we would like to thank all the participants of the focus groups. All of you gave us valuable and interesting opinions that led to the final results of the study. Finally, we would like to thank the informants of the pre-study who helped us find new perspectives to examine in this report. Linköping, May 2018 Hampus Kalderén Yannick Lindqvist __________________ __________________ II Abstract Title: Women and beer: A potential love story? Authors: Hampus Kalderén & Yannick Lindqvist Supervisor: Per Frankelius Background: Women have been part of the brewing process of beer for as long as history can tell. However, after the industrialization, beer became a commercial product and men took over the production. Women were no longer part of the beer industry. Today, women’s interest in beer appear to be growing as more female associations and groups start to surface around Sweden and organize different events. As more women get an interest in beer, marketers must find the right formula to market beer to women, as most of their attempts to feminize beer have so far been unsuccessful. Purpose: This study aims to examine women’s attitude towards beer and identify efficient ways to attract them to drink beer. In doing so, the study intends to give a better picture of women as beer consumers and how to best reach them through various communication channels. Method: The study is based on a qualitative method, with both an inductive and deductive approach. The data was collected from three semi-structured interviews and two focus groups of seven participants each. The questions asked during the interviews and focus groups were designed with the help of experts within the field of gastronomy and oenology, called before the start of the collection of data. Conclusion: The findings show that packaging and labeling are not decisive for women’s final purchase-decision. Instead, they rely on recommendations from friends and family. The study further shows that sponsoring local beer events hosted by opinion leaders will have the most impact on women’s attitude to beer. Keywords: Word-of-mouth, Women, Beer, Communication marketing, Decision making process, Feminization III Table of contents 1. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................1 1.1. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................ 4 1.2. CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 4 1.3. LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................................... 5 2. METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................................................7 2.1. RESEARCH METHOD & DESIGN OF THE STUDY ............................................................................... 7 2.2. APPROACH OF THE STUDY ......................................................................................................... 7 2.3. PERSPECTIVE OF THE STUDY ....................................................................................................... 8 2.4. DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................... 8 2.4.1. Primary data ................................................................................................................ 8 2.4.2. Secondary data ............................................................................................................ 9 2.4.3. Pre-study...................................................................................................................... 9 2.5. SAMPLING .............................................................................................................................. 9 2.6. INTERVIEWS .......................................................................................................................... 10 2.7. FOCUS GROUPS ..................................................................................................................... 12 2.8. TRANSCRIPTION OF DATA ........................................................................................................ 15 2.9. DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................... 15 2.10. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES ............................................................................................................. 16 2.11. QUALITY OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................ 17 2.12. METHOD CRITICISM ............................................................................................................. 18 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................... 21 3.1. CONSUMER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS ................................................................................... 21 3.2. BRANDING ........................................................................................................................... 23 3.2.1. Packaging .................................................................................................................. 24 3.2.2. Colors ......................................................................................................................... 25 3.2.3. Labeling ..................................................................................................................... 26 3.3. COMMUNICATION CHANNELS .................................................................................................. 27 3.3.1. Word of mouth .......................................................................................................... 27 3.3.2. Social media .............................................................................................................. 29 3.3.3. Events ........................................................................................................................ 30 3.4. TASTE .................................................................................................................................. 32 3.5. GENERATIONS OF CONSUMERS ................................................................................................ 32 3.5.1. Millennials ................................................................................................................. 32 3.5.2. Baby boomers ............................................................................................................ 34 4. EMPIRICAL DATA ........................................................................................................... 35 4.1. INTERVIEWS .......................................................................................................................... 35 4.1.1. Interview with FemAle (08/03/18) ............................................................................ 35 4.1.2. Interview with Isabella Ankarberg (13/03/18) .......................................................... 39 4.1.3. Interview with Lise Ljungman (14/03/18) ................................................................. 43 4.2. FOCUS GROUPS ..................................................................................................................... 48 4.2.1. Focus group A (25/03/18) ......................................................................................... 48 4.2.2. Focus group B (20/04/18).......................................................................................... 59 5. ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................... 67 5.1. GENERAL DISCUSSION............................................................................................................. 67 5.2. PACKAGING AND LABELS ......................................................................................................... 70 5.3. DECISION-MAKING PROCESS .................................................................................................... 71 IV 5.4. WORD-OF-MOUTH................................................................................................................ 72 5.5. COMMUNICATION CHANNELS .................................................................................................. 73 6. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 75 6.1. WHAT IMPACT DOES PACKAGING AND LABELING HAVE ON WOMEN’S

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