Domestic Beer - US - November 2009 The Consumer: Beer Usage, Frequency of Use and Brands Key points ● In 2009, beer boasts the biggest consumer based among all alcoholic beverages with a 48% penetration among adults aged 21 and older, compared to 45% for distilled spirits and 35% for wine. ● Men remain the primary beer consumers in the marketing, outpacing women 60% to 36% in the incidence of drinking any type of beer. ● In the U.S., among all adults aged 21 and older, domestic beer has 40% penetration compared to 28% for imported beer. ● During 2005-09, the frequency of drinking light beer increased by 9% and those of drinking regular domestic beer and ice beer by 14% each respectively. Beer versus other alcoholic beverages Beer and distilled spirits consumption among adults aged 21+ grew slightly during 2006-09, despite the negative influence of the recession in 2008-09. During the times of economic downturn, beer represents a more affordable discretionary pleasure than other higher-priced wines, spirits, cordials, liqueurs, etc. FIGURE 55: Trends in beer consumption versus other alcoholic beverages, 2004-09 2004 2006 2009 Base: adults aged 21+ 23,463 23,428 24,041 % % % Beer (net of all alcoholic beer) 46 45 48 Distilled spirits (net) 46 42 45 Imported and domestic wines (net) 38 34 35 Champagne and sparkling wines 19 17 17 Coolers 18 16 15 Cordials and liqueurs 18 15 14 Port, sherry, and dessert wine 7 7 7 Prepared cocktail mixes with liquor 8 8 8 SOURCE: Mintel/Experian Simmons NCS: Fall 2006 Adult Full Year—POP, Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Fall 2006 Adult Full Year—POP, Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Winter 2009 Adult Full Year—POP Beer competes closely with distilled spirits ● Beer and distilled spirits have almost similar penetration among alcoholic beverage drinkers aged 21+. Although 60% of all men aged 21+ report drinking beer, the highest male consumer base among all alcoholic beverages, spirits always remain in competition to lure this demographic away from beer. Additionally, spirits boast of a bigger female consumer base than that of beer. ● Beer marketers can attract some (male) spirits drinkers through beers with high alcohol content. Many craft beers feature high alcohol content; for example, Sam Adams Triple Bock has 17.5% alcohol by volume. FIGURE 56: Beer consumption versus other alcoholic beverages, by gender, February 2008-March 2009 Base: 24,041 adults aged 21+ All Male Female % % % Beer 48 60 36 Distilled spirits (net) 45 50 40 Imported and domestic wines (net) 35 31 38 Champagne and sparkling wine 17 14 19 Coolers 15 9 20 Cordials and liquors 14 13 15 Port, sherry, and dessert wine 7 6 7 Prepared cocktail mixes with liquor 8 6 9 SOURCE: Mintel Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Winter 2009 Adult Full Year—POP Beer edges distilled spirits among most age groups ● More adults drink beer (48%) than any other alcoholic beverage. This is also true across all under-55s, after which more adults drink distilled spirits than beer. Amongst over-65s, wine has the greatest penetration at 40% of adults. ● When combined, beer and distilled spirits are consumed by the overwhelming majority of adults. Beer consumption is prevalent among 50% or more under-55s. Beer penetration peaks at 53% of those aged 35-44 and declines thereafter. Distilled spirit consumption follows much the same pattern as beer consumption. Beer and distilled spirits penetration is highest among under-45s, while wine skews to older adults, especially over-55s. ● Beer drinking drops off among the 55-64 age set, sinking to just more than a third of over-65s. The volume of beer that is consumed on one occasion and its diuretic effect might be problematic for male over-55s. A flavorful low-alcohol beer might reinvigorate beer consumption among over-55s, since high alcohol content causes the diuretic affect. ● Over-65s drink the least of all age groups, except for traditional wines, port, sherry, and dessert wines. FIGURE 57: Beer consumption versus other alcoholic beverages, by age, February 2008-March 2009 Base: 24,041 adults aged 21+ All 21-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ % % % % % % % Beer 48 51 52 54 51 43 35 Distilled spirits (net) 45 47 51 50 45 43 37 Imported and domestic wines 35 20 32 36 35 37 40 (net) Champagne and sparkling wine 17 13 16 18 18 17 15 Coolers 15 21 16 18 15 13 9 Cordials and liquors 14 12 14 15 15 15 12 Port, sherry, and dessert wine 7 5 6 5 6 7 8 Prepared cocktail mixes with 8 13 10 11 6 6 4 liquor SOURCE: Mintel/Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Winter 2009 Adult Full Year—POP Domestic vs. imported beer Domestic beer commands a higher consumer base, some 40% of all adults aged 21+ in 2009, compared to 28% for imported beer. During 2007-09, the consumer base for both types of beers, domestic and imported, has remained virtually unchanged. However, imported beer exhibited a significant volume decline during 2008-09, which suggests that while the number of imported beer drinkers has remained unfazed during the recession, those drinkers might be picking up imported brews less frequently—either moving to cheaper domestics or reducing beer consumption overall. FIGURE 58: Beer consumption, domestic vs. imported, 2005-09 2005 2007 2009 Base: adults aged 21+ 23,514 23,680 24,041 % % % Any domestic (light/regular) 40 38 40 Any imported (light/regular) 27 28 28 SOURCE: Mintel/Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Winter 2009 Adult Full Year—POP Trends in drinking different types of beer ● During 2005-09, the light beer and microbrew/craft segments have experienced a slight increase in the incidence of consumption. More notably, most beer types have maintained their consumer base to the levels of pre-recession period. ● Light beer, which commands the highest consumer base among all beer types, represents a better-for-you, lower-calorie alternative to full-calorie beer in a nation where some 67% adults aged 20+ are obese or overweight, per the National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey. ● Domestic microbrewed or craft beer provides variety, interest, and new beer drinking experiences that beer drinkers are looking for, at similar or more affordable prices than imported beer. FIGURE 59: Incidence of personal beer consumption, by type of beer, 2005/06-2008/09 Jan 2005-Nov 2006 Jan 2007-Nov 2007 Feb 2008-March 2009 Base: adults aged 21+ 23,514 23,680 24,041 % % % Any beer (net) 46 46 48 Light/low-calorie beer* 29 28 30 Regular domestic beer 26 26 26 Imported beer 26 27 27 Microbrewed beer 9 10 11 Ice beer 6 6 6 No-alcohol beer 5 5 4 Malt liquor 4 4 4 * light/low-calorie beer includes both domestic and imported light beer SOURCE: Mintel/Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Fall 2005 Adult Full Year—POP, Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Fall 2007 Adult Full Year—POP, Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Winter 2009 Adult Full Year—POP Men continue to provide momentum to the market across all beer segments ● In 2009, men drive beer consumption with more male beer drinkers than female beer drinkers across each beer segment in the U.S.; beer clearly remains a “male-dominated sport.” With strong ties to male leisure activities, beer consumption permeates the world of sports and sporting events. Like popcorn and movie theatres, hot dogs and baseball, the association of beer with football, baseball, ice hockey, and race car driving, etc., remains strong. ● Although women show a much lower propensity to drink beer compared to men, the good news is that the number of female beer drinkers aged 21+ has held steady and even increased slightly during 2005/06-09 (34% in 2005 vs. 36% in 2009). A close observation of the Experian Simmons data reveals that the small increase in female beer drinkers has primarily come from women aged 35-54. ● The on-screen as well as off-screen advertising strategy from beer manufacturers largely remains centered on men; however, the degree to which women are used as sex symbols in beer ads has declined in recent years. ● Interestingly, the beer category does not mirror other low-calorie options in other beverage categories (e.g. carbonated soft drinks) where light beverages are heavily skewed toward women. In the domestic beer category, 36% of men drink light beer and represent a bigger opportunity than women. Marketing to this demographic should continue to drive sales where in addition to taste humor is an important ingredient. ● As expected, males also are the key targets for regular domestic (38%) and microbrews (15%). To encourage female beer drinkers to try pricier microbrews, light versions that are delicately flavored and balanced could be an opportunity. ● The male target for beer marketing overall is broad at 24-54 years of age, as it is for light beer. For microbrews, regular domestic, ice beer and malt liquor, it narrows ever so slightly to males aged 25-44, 21-44, 21-44, and 21-34, respectively. FIGURE 60: Incidence of personal consumption of beer, by gender and age, February 2008-March 2009 Base: 24,041 adults aged 21+ Any (net) Light/low-calorie* Regular domestic Microbrew Ice Malt liquor % % % % % % All 48 30 26 11 6 4 Gender: Male 60 36 38 15 8 6 Female 36 24 16 6 4 3 Age: 21-24 51 34 28 9 8 9 25-34 52 33 29 14 7 7 35-44 54 34 29 14 8 5 45-54 51 33 27 11 6 3 55-64 43 25 26 9 5 3 65+ 35 21 20 5 3 2 * light/low-calorie beer includes both domestic and imported light beer SOURCE: Mintel/Experian Simmons NCS/NHCS: Winter 2009 Adult Full Year—POP Beer consumption increases with household income ● The number of those who drink beer increases with household income both overall and for each segment.