After years of playing second fiddle to cider in terms of market excitement and buzz, beer is making its presence felt once more. there are some great new ideas and some innovative marketing from the big suppliers, coupled with what looks like shifting consumer tastes.
by Émer O’Toole
The beer category is always changing and sales don’t just come from the well-known brands. As a result, retailers have to work to ensure their fixture gives customers what they want.
Scottish beer brand Belhaven says it is crucial to know the market favourites and to think carefully about what your own customers are likely to want. Pushing into premium territory is the next step after stocking up on standard product lines. “With the mainstream beer and cider categories struggling for growth, retailers should consider streamlining their range to make space for premium brands that will drive value and encourage trade-up,” says Craig Clarkson, Category & Trade Marketing Director – Off Trade, Heineken UK.
“Premium and craft beers can play a dual role in the range of many c-stores; offering a trade-up opportunity to increase customer spend while also, in common with other premium categories, adding interest to the overall range, to appeal to more affluent customers,” says Gordon Muir, Brand Manager for Belhaven. World Beers has brought three more Italian craft beers into the UK. All from the award-winning Birradamare brewery, Bira Roma Bionda is 5% abv, La Zia Ale is 5.5% and Na Biretta Rosa is 6.3%. World Beers managing director Peter Karsten says: “The beers have been produced to compliment the finest food and come packaged in beautiful, stand-out 33cl bottles in cases of 12.”
Pack sizes is another area worth considering. “Convenience retailers should focus on a range architecture that meets a number of key price points to cater for the different shopper missions,” says Jessica Markowski – Head of Consumer Activation at AB InBev. “The convenience channel has a heavy bias towards single/small packs, so the range architecture should reflect this.”
With beer being a constantly changing category, it is crucial for retailers to pay attention to what drives growth.
