Trade News

HIGH NOON HARD SELTZER

Gallo recently launched High Noon Hard Seltzer made with real juice and real vodka. Gluten-free with just 100 calories and 4.5% alcohol-by-volume, High Noon comes in four-packs in Black Cherry, Grapefruit, Pineapple and Watermelon.

INSIGHT INTO CRAFT BEER DRINKERS

In a recent article in Craft Business Daily, editors shared the results of a study by C+R Research, a market insights agency. The company recently polled 2,000 Americans between the ages of 21 to 70 to get a better feel for the mindset of the craft beer drinker. Here’s what they uncovered:

HALF THE RESPONDENTS DRINKING CRAFT AT LEAST WEEKLY.
When it comes to frequency, C+R found that nearly half of the respondents said they “drink craft beer once a week.” And a little over 40% said they “visit brewpub or brewery once per month.” These percentages are a little higher if you hone in on millennials; with more than half of the demographic cohort (56%) saying they drink craft beer at least once per week. And 43% saying they “visit brewpub or brewery once per month.”

DON’T NEED TO CHECK THE PRICE TAG.
The topic of price yielded some interesting data. For example, a little over three-fourths of all respondents (76%) said price does not influence whether they purchase craft beer. In fact, “86% said they would pay more for the craft beer of their preference, even if cheaper options were available.”

AVERAGE MONTHLY SPEND?
How much money are we talking? Well, the average monthly spend on craft beer is $59, according to the results. If you break that down by gender, it’s a little higher for males ($66) and a little lower for females ($50). And if you target millennials monthly spend, once again the numbers are a little higher, with the average millennial indicating that they spend $63 on craft beer a month.

PREFERRED SEASON FOR DRINKING CRAFT?
The survey also gave way to the preferred season for craft beer. Summer topped the list with half of the respondents pointing to it as their preferred month. And the runner up, believe it or not, was no preference. Nearly a third of the respondents said they don’t have a preference. Fall and winter followed with each season grabbing 7% of the votes, and spring brought up the rear with 5%.

ARE CONSUMERS AWARE OF CRAFT’S SLOWDOWN?
Those of us keeping track of trends know that craft has lost a little spring in its step the past few years, but are consumers aware of that?

Maybe not. The survey says nearly half of the respondents (49%) “believe craft beer’s popularity has increased within [the] last few years.”  Even better news: almost everyone (94%) said they’re “drinking more craft beer now than last year.”

Dogfish Head Merges with Sam Adams

Dogfish Head announced in May that it would merge with Sam Adams brewer Boston Beer Company in a $300 million cash-and-stock transaction, combining two of the nation’s top 15 craft brewers. The move will help the brewers better take on competition from “Big Beer” and a crowded craft beer landscape that’s put pressure on the smaller players’ sales. In what Dogfish founder Sam Calagione (on right) once called “inevitable,” the new agreement will help the two combine forces as it pertains to marketing, purchasing of ingredients, bottles, labeling, other input costs and negotiating with distributors. (Jim Koch, founder, chairman and face of Boston Beer Co. on left).