GlobalData is a London-based company, and it produces thousands of reports, briefings, forecasts and data books each year in markets from healthcare and financial services to retail and technology. Occasionally, GlobalData will send us a preview of one of these pertinent reports, and the info is always quite interesting. Here’s one on global beer sellers gravitating toward the ultra-light beer category.
At a time when the sales of top-selling light beer brands have been contracting in the United States, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) Michelob Ultra is redefining the ultra-light beer concept in a move that could have global implications, said leading data and analytics company GlobalData. AB InBev launched Michelob Ultra “low carbohydrate light beer” in the United States in 2002, when the country was in the middle of the famed Atkins diet craze and was subsequently able to cultivate a devoted core of users, including weight-conscious women, even while the overall light beer sector shrank.
As recently as 2007, Bud Light, Coors Light and Miller Lite collectively accounted for roughly one third of U.S. beer shipments, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights and The Wall Street Journal. By 2017, that collective share had shrunk to just over a quarter. However, Michelob Ultra brand bucked the trend and had its biggest year yet in 2017 when U.S. shipments grew by over 21 percent.
Sensing a revival of the low-carb trend, a number of companies are making a more premium push for ultra-light beer. Heineken USA launched 90-calorie Amstel Xlight aligned with top interests of millennial consumers — wellness and fitness — into a handful of markets in 2017.
Tom Vierhile, innovation insights director at GlobalData, said: “While it sounds odd to link beer with fitness, brewers with a sense of self-preservation are keen to establish the link. Data suggests that younger consumers see alcohol in a more negative light than older consumers and beer that is perceived to be more healthful could thrive in the United States and elsewhere.”
According to GlobalData’s Q4 2016 consumer survey, 54 percent of 25- to 34-year-old Americans are actively trying to reduce consumption of alcohol compared to 28 percent of Americans overall and just 15 percent of 45- to 54-year-olds. A higher percentage of these younger consumers say they are actively trying to reduce consumption of alcohol than fat (51 percent), sugar (41 percent) or even carbohydrates (36 percent).
Globally, the differences are more moderate but still indicate a tendency of younger consumers to more closely evaluate the health consequences of their consumption choices than older consumers. 25 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds globally say they are actively trying to reduce consumption of alcohol, versus 22 percent of global consumers overall. Just 17 percent of 65+ year-old global consumers say they are actively trying to reduce alcohol consumption.
Vierhile added: “Lower alcohol, carbohydrate and calorie contents are trends to keep an eye on in global beer innovation. But new entrants promising a higher-quality beer experience than past launches that were obsessed with calorie counts show a maturing of the ‘healthful beer’ concept into something with global growth potential.”
In line with the low-card trend, India-based B9 Beverages launched Bira 91 light lager with just 90 calories per 330-ml bottle and 4 percent ABV. In New Zealand, Speight’s Summit Ultra Low Carb lager claims to have 75 percent fewer carbohydrates than regular beers and 4.2 percent ABV.
Eager to defend its turf, AB InBev earlier this year launched Michelob “Ultra Pure Gold with organic grains.” With just 2.5 carbohydrates and 85 calories per 12-fluid-ounce serving, Ultra Pure Gold is billed as a “superior light beer.”
Vierhile continued: “Organic ingredients resonate with younger consumers, who equate the term with a product that is intrinsically more healthful and aligns with popular trends like clean eating and drinking.”
Some companies are even using fruit and fruit flavors to cut calorie and alcohol levels. Indonesia-based PT Beverindo Indah Abadi has recently rolled out 2.9 percent ABV Prost Alster lemon lager beer with 10 percent real lemon juice.
Vierhile concluded: “For consumers bored with the same old light beer, these new offerings may provide a reason to give reduced-calorie beer another look.”
[…] are keen to establish the link,” said GlobalData’s innovation insights director Tom Vierhile, according to Craft Brewing Business. “Data suggests that younger consumers see alcohol in a more negative light than older consumers […]