Basically beer sales as a whole are flat, but the story from the brewers at the conference was that more people are drinking craft beer, and that’s creating jobs because craft brewers are less efficient than the major breweries.
Peter’s story was that they sell beer in Supermarkets and give out samples. It’s usually the women that they snag (men are possibly less polite and less often doing the grocery shopping). The woman is usually hesitant initially. She has a large pack of commercial Bud Lite, or similar, in the trolley for her husband. She says … “well, I don’t really like beer, I get it for my husband though,” pointing to the trolly. Eventually she gives in and says “OK, give me something really light to try”.
The Smuttynose sales people eventually realized that that woman, and the many like her, were asking to taste the exact thing that they didn’t like. They were asking for a sample of something similar to what they were buying for their husband. So, they started ignoring requests, and dishing out porters etc., and this led to success. The women would leave the superstore with a 30 pack of mainstream beer for their husband, and on top of that would be a 6 pack of Smuttynose craft beer for themselves.
He said, women understand wine and all the nuances of flavour and grapes etc. they’ll ask for that “Australian Shiraz” etc., and their salesman are giving them a language and an understanding to help them appreciate the world of craft beer.
That understanding and appreciation of craft beer is often lacking in both sexes but there is a huge market that’s being untapped with the women.
It’s apparently nonsense that women like fruit flavoured light beers.
no prob