Abstract
This report is the second of two volumes. This volume focuses on imported beer for sale in the US. Volume sales figures are based on Mintel's analysis of volume sales data from Adams Beverage Group. Dollar sales figures are created by triangulating dollar sales data from IRI for beer sold through FDM with volume sales for all distribution channels from Adams Beverage Group. Consumer attitudes and behavior and perceptions about beer are gathered in exclusive consumer research conducted for this report. Key themes in this report include:
- According to an analysis of the Simmons NCS, the percentage of adult respondents who say they drink imported beer remained at about 26% of all adult respondents between 2001 and 2005. Sales growth, therefore, is due primarily to an increase in consumption among those who do drink imported beer. Imported beer sales increased on a dollar and volume basis between 2001 and 2006, to $18.6 (58% growth) billion and 375,000 cases (24% growth).
- Imported beer continues to sell well despite the stagnation of overall beer volume sales in the U.S. This is due in part to a shift in consumer preferences from domestic beer to imported beer. Imported beer is an "affordable luxury" is within the reach of a growing upper-middle class. Among respondents who bought beer in the last 30 days, roughly four in ten agree that imported beer tastes better and is of higher quality.
- Although sales have increased, imported beer faces stiff competition from distilled spirits and wine, especially among 21-24 year olds. Some 41% of respondents to Mintel's consumer survey, who drink imported beer but do not drink domestic beer, agree that they prefer wine and mixed drinks to beer.
- Mexican beer brands have gained share as a result of the growth of the Hispanic population, and should continue to make both market share gains and increased sales growth through 2011. However, Mexican beers may need to buttress branding for light beer, or develop new light beer products in the face of successful deployment of European premium light beer brands.
- Importers are giving increasing attention to the light beer segment of the market. While both regular imported beer and light beer sales are advancing, imported light beer sales are growing at nearly twice the rate of regular imported beer sales. A premium imported light sub-segment is emerging. Heineken Premium Light and Beck's Premier Light are the two leading premium light beers. From its initial launch as a sub-segment in 2005, premium light imported beer accounts for an estimated 14.2% of light imported dollar sales in 2006 (in FDM).
- The on-premises market can be a significant driver of off-premises sales. Over 40% of respondents to exclusive research conducted for this report buy a beer that they tried at a bar or restaurant as do nearly half of respondents aged 21-44. The on-premises channel serves as a trial/taste-test site and ultimately influences off-premises purchases and has boosted sales of Stella Artois, Blue Moon and other brands.
- Wal-Mart and other big box stores are becoming an increasingly important distribution channel for imported beer. About one in five respondents to Mintel's exclusive consumer research said they purchased imported beer at Wal-Mart or Costco. A stronger presence by these retailers will place additional price pressure to the market.
This report includes imported beer purchased for at-home (off-premises) consumption (products sold primarily in cans and bottles) and for on-premises consumption in bars, clubs and restaurants. The report includes imported light beer, but excludes domestic beer, no/low alcohol beer, hard ciders, and products brewed at home.
This report contains US IRI InfoScan data.
Table of Contents
- Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
- Executive Summary
- Key ideas
- 9.6% CAGR from 2001-06 in constant dollars
- Light import beers retain substantial room for growth
- Imported beer seen as affordable luxury
- Population shifts to impact marketing strategies and brand share
- Competition from other alcoholic beverages
- Almost half of all imported beer comes from Mexico
- Ads focus on escape/relaxation, humor, and cultural origins
- Distribution channels are broadening
- The Consumer
- Future trends
- Market Drivers
- Imports are an affordable luxury -- consumers want to "trade up"
- Figure 1: Distribution of households, by income, 1999 and 2005
- Figure 2: Change in number of households per income bracket, 1999-2005
- Competition between alcoholic beverages
- Figure 3: Share of volume sales for beer, distilled spirits and wine, 2000-05
- Figure 4: Graph: Total alcoholic beverage market, segmented by volume, 2005
- Figure 5: Dollar share for beer, distilled spirits and wine, 2000-05
- Figure 6: Graph: Total alcoholic beverage market, segmented by value, 2005
- Imports vs. domestic craft, regional and microbrews
- Figure 7: Beer volume growth. imports compared to domestic regional/micro/craft, 2000-05
- Hispanics impacting supplier share
- Figure 8: Average number of imported beers consumed in last 30 days, by race/ethnicity, January-September 2005
- Figure 9: Population aged 21 or older, by race and Hispanic origin, 2006-2011
- Figure 10: Imported beer consumed in last 30 days by segment, by race/ethnicity, January-September 2005
- Graying nation may affect marketing strategies
- Figure 11: Americans who drank one or more alcoholic beverages in the past year, by age, 2005
- Figure 12: U.S. over-21 population, by age, 2006 and 2011
- Market Size and Trends
- Market size
- Overview
- Figure 13: Total U.S. retail dollar sales of beer, including imports, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Figure 14: Total U.S. retail volume sales of beer, including imports, 2001-06
- Imported Beer
- Figure 15: Total U.S. retail dollar sales of Imported beer, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Figure 16: Graph: Total U.S. retail dollar sales of Imported beer, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Figure 17: Total U.S. retail volume sales of Imported beer, at current and constant prices, 2001-06
- Trends in new product marketing claims
- Figure 18: Total U.S. new domestic beer product launches , by marketing claim, 2001-06
- Market Segmentation
- Overview
- Figure 19: Volume sales of Imported beer, segmented by type, 2004 and 2006
- Figure 20: Graph: Indexed volume sales of beer, segmented by type, 2001-06 (estimate)
- Figure 21: Graph: Volume sales of imported and domestic beer, segmented by type, 2006 (estimate)
- Regular imported beer
- Figure 22: Volume sales of regular imported beer, 2001-06
- Light imported beer
- Figure 23: Volume sales of light imported beer, 2001-06
- Supply Structure
- Foreign trade
- Figure 24: Beer imports by country/region 2003 & 2005 & Jan-Sept 2006
- Manufacturer sales
- Overview
- Figure 25: Volume sales of imported beer by manufacturer in the U.S., 2004 and 2006*
- Figure 26: Graph: Volume sales growth of imported beer by manufacturer in the U.S., 2004 and 2006*
- Figure 27: FDM* sales of imported beer by manufacturer in the U.S., 2004 and 2006
- Regular imported beer
- Figure 28: Dollar sales of imported regular beer brands in FDM*, by manufacturer, 2004 and 2006
- Figure 29: Volume sales of imported regular beer brands in FDM*, by manufacturer, 2004 and 2006
- Light imported beer
- Figure 30: Dollar sales of imported light beer brands in FDM, by manufacturer 2004 and 2006
- Figure 31: Volume sales of imported light beer brands in FDM, by manufacturer, 2004-06
- Company profiles
- Grupo Modelo (imported by Barton Beers and Gambrinus)
- Heineken USA
- InBev
- Diageo
- Advertising and Promotion
- Overview and expenditure
- Overview
- Figure 32: Television Spot "Corona Extra--Hammocks"
- Figure 33: Television Spot "Amstel Light--Live Tastefully"
- Figure 34: Television Spot "Beck' s Precision Craftmanship"
- Figure 35: Television Spot "Dos Equis--Friday Night Baja"
- Figure 36: Television Spot "Corona--Cinco de mayo"
- Figure 37: Television Spot "Heineken--Mars Land rover"
- Figure 38: Television Spot "foster' s--soulmate"
- Figure 39: Television Spot "Heineken--the hustle"
- Company and brand expenditures
- Figure 40: Advertising expenditures for broadcast and print on imported beer, by company and/or brand 2004 and 2005
- Figure 41: Imported beer advertising expenditures by brand for broadcast and print ads, 2005
- Figure 42: Broadcast and print advertising expenditures per case by company, for imported and domestic beer, 2005
- Advertising profiles
- Grupo Modelo (Barton Beers/Gambrinus)
- Figure 43: Television Spot "Corona Extra
- Figure 44: Television Spot "Corona Extra Moonlight"
- Heineken USA
- Figure 45: Television Spot "Yo Sabes"
- Figure 46: Television Spot "Hot like me"
- Diageo
- Figure 47: Television Spot "cheeseheads"
- Figure 48: Television Spot "bloopers"
- Figure 49: Television Spot "St. Patrick' s Day"
- Figure 50: Television Spot "little black book"
- Figure 51: Television Spot "beautiful man"
- InBev
- Figure 52: Television Spot "Waiting for the weekend"
- Figure 53: Television Spot "Why be average"
- Figure 54: Television Spot "Famous for beer"
- Figure 55: Television Spot "Beck' s premier light"
- Molson Coors
- Figure 56: Television Spot "Molson Canadian,"
- Retail Distribution
- Overview
- Figure 57: U.S. on-premises and off-premises sales of imported beer, by channel, 2004 and 2006
- Figure 58: U.S. on-premises and off-premises sales of imported beer, by channel, 2006
- Figure 59: U.S. sales of imported beer, by channel, 2003-06
- On-premises sales
- Figure 60: U.S. on-premises sales of imported beer, at current and constant prices, 2003-06
- Liquor/package/mass merchandiser
- Figure 61: U.S. liquor/package/other sales of imported beer, at current and constant prices, 2003-06
- Supermarket and natural store sales
- Figure 62: U.S. supermarket & natural channel sales of imported beer, at current and constant prices, 2003-06
- Convenience store sales
- Figure 63: U.S. convenience store sales of imported beer, at current and constant prices, 2003-06
- The Consumer
- Introduction
- Summary
- Trends in beer drinking
- Figure 64: Incidence of beer drinking, by type of beer, 2001-05
- Penetration of beer consumption by type of beer and selected demographics
- Figure 65: Incidence of beer drinking, by key demographics, by type of beer, January-September 2005
- Imported beer consumption
- Figure 66: Imported (regular) beer consumption, mean number of drinks, by key demographics/cohorts, January-September 2005
- Profile of beer drinkers by type of beer
- Figure 67: Profile of beer drinkers by beer type, by key demographics, May 2005-June 2006
- Light imports vs. regular imports
- Figure 68: Share of light imported beer of all imported beer purchases, by age, September 2006
- On-premises vs. off-premises
- Figure 69: Number of beers purchased in the past seven days, by type of beer consumed, September 2006
- Regular Imported vs. Domestic
- Figure 70: Imported and domestic beer preferences, by age, Jan-Sept 2005
- Drinking occasions
- Figure 71: Drinking occasions for beer, imported vs domestic beer, September 2006
- Figure 72: Drinking occasions for imported beer, by gender, September 2006
- Figure 73: Drinking occasions for imported beer, by age, September 2006
- Figure 74: Drinking occasions for imported beer, by household income, September 2006
- Attitudes toward beer
- Figure 75: Attitudes toward beer, by gender, September 2006
- Figure 76: Attitudes toward beer and other beverages, by type of beer consumed, September 2006
- Perceptions about imported beer compared to domestic
- Figure 77: Perceptions of imported beer, by age, September 2006
- Figure 78: Perceptions of imported beer, by household income, September 2006
- Figure 79: Perceptions of imported beer, by type of beer consumed, September 2006
- Retail channel preferences
- Figure 80: Retail channel preferences for buying imported beer, by age, September 2006
- Figure 81: Retail channel preferences for buying imported beer, by household income, September 2006
- Purchase behavior regarding imported beer
- Figure 82: Purchase behavior regarding imported beer, by gender, September 2006
- Figure 83: Purchase behavior regarding imported beer, by age, September 2006
- Race/ethnicity
- Consumption by segment
- Figure 84: Imported beer consumed in last 30 days by segment, by race/ethnicity, January-September 2005
- Perceptions about imported beer compared to domestic
- Figure 85: Perceptions of imported beer, by race/ethnicity, September 2006
- Retail channel preferences for imported beer
- Figure 86: Retail channel preferences for imported beer, by race/ethnicity, September 2006
- Future and Forecast
- Future trends
- Population shifts to impact marketing strategies and brand share
- Importers to capitalize on interest in premium light beer
- Mass merchandisers/club stores to become more significant channels
- Market forecast
- Imported beer
- Figure 87: Forecast of total U.S. sales of imported beer, at current and constant prices, 2006-11
- Volume sales of imported beer
- Figure 88: Forecast of total U.S. volume sales of imported beer, 2006-11
- Volume sales of regular imported beer
- Figure 89: Forecast of U.S. volume sales of regular imported beer, 2006-11
- Volume sales of light imported beer
- Figure 90: Forecast of U.S. volume sales of light imported beer, 2006-11
- Forecast Factors
- Appendix: Trade Associations
- Appendix: New Product Developments
- New product briefs
- Cervezas Mexicanas Selection Tecate 2006
- Coastal Imports Toñ Cerveza
- Aladdin Beverage Macau Chinese Beer
- Guinness Irish Ale
- Wein Bauer Grieskirchner Hefe-Weizen Wheat Beer
- Wein Bauer XIHU Westlake Beer
- Heineken Premium Light Lager Beer
- Young' s St. George' s English Ale
- Molson XXX Repackaged Super Premium Beer
- Belukus Marketing Belhaven Twisted Thistle India Pale ALE
- Appendix: Global Trends in Marketing Claims and New Product Developments
- Marketing claims
- Latest trends
- Organic beer
- Figure 91: Global new releases of new organic beers, Q3 2005-Q2 2006
- Low Carb
- Figure 92: Low carb marketing claims for new beer products, Q3 2005-Q2 2006
- Traditional production processes
- Seasonal editions
- Figure 93: Global release of seasonal beers, Q3 2005-Q2 2006
- Flavor/Ingredient Trends
- Fruity, sweet, toffee, and coffee flavors make their mark
- Packaging Trends
- Packaging Trends: Packaging for convenience
- Appendix: Simmons cohorts
- Figure 94: Married couples cohorts
- Figure 95: Single women cohorts
- Figure 96: Single men cohorts
