craft beer + social mission
TRANSCRIPT
BUSINESS QUESTION
/ Given the increase in craft beer sales in the US, how can a
new craft beer brand differentiate itself and capture a portion
of the growing market?
/ We looked to our favorite brands* – the ones that really
make an emotional connection – and tried to decipher their
secret mojo
/ What we found is that the brands we love, were also the
brands that loved others – in the form of giving back to the
community
/ Now, a brewery can’t necessarily give back beer to the
community, but we wondered whether craft beer drinkers
would be more inclined to purchase a beer that supported a
socially conscious mission
* For those that may not know, both Tom’s shoes and Warby Parker
glasses have risen to fame through a “buy one, give one “ sales
policy, while Patagonia outdoor clothing pioneered the 1% for the
environment movement
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY / Using Google’s Consumer Survey platform, we reached out to a sample of online streaming video users* (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime)
/ 322 respondents were asked “When out at a pub or bar, what do you usually order?” and given the following randomized options: Craft Beer, Spirits, Bud/Miller/Coors, Wine, or I don’t drink.
/ 120 respondents were screened into the survey by answering “Craft Beer” and were split into 6 independent cells, each with an n=20
/ Each cell was asked to indicate purchase intent for a single purchase option on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “very unlikely” and 5 being “very likely”
/ Purchase options included a control case and two test cases of either $1 being donated to a socially conscious mission or being brewed by a non-profit company
/ In addition, two pricing levels were tested for the control case and test cases to assess price elasticity of each option
/ Our hypothesis was that the purchase intent would be higher for the socially conscious choices vs. the control case
* Streaming video users tend to skew younger and more urban,
which is a hypothetical target demographic for a socially conscious
brewery. In addition, streaming users tend to over-index in “Market
Mavens”, e.g. consumers that are more likely to adopt new products
and actively share their opinions on social media. Source: Civic
Science May 2014 Insight Report
SURVEY QUESTIONS
CONTROL CASE:
How likely are you to pay [$4/$8 ] for a pint of hand crafted beer brewed with premium ingredients?
+$1:
How likely are you to pay [$4/$8] for a pint of hand crafted beer brewed with premium ingredients where $1 from every beer is donated to support a socially conscious mission?
NON-PROFIT:
How likely are you to pay [$4/$8 ] for a pint of hand crafted beer brewed with premium ingredients by a non profit brewery committed to a socially conscious mission?
Pricing $4 $8
Control 20 20
+$1 20 20
Non-
Profit
20 20
SAMPLE SIZE (n=120)
DRINK CHOICE
Of the 322 respondents, the
highest number, 120 or 38%,
choose ”Craft Beer” when
asked, “When out at a pub or
bar, what do you usually
order?”
This confirms the previous
assumption that streaming
video users are a likely target
demographic* for craft beer
Craft Beer
38%
Spirits
24%
Bud, Miller, or
Coors
17%
I don't drink
15%
Wine
6%
* For more demographic breakdowns of drink choice, please see
the appendix
PURCHASE INTENT: CONTROL CASE
85%
55%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
$4 $8
Lik
ely
to
Pu
rch
ase
Top 2 Box* Purchase Intent: $4 vs. $8
* Top 2 Box is a standard market research convention by which
the top two responses are combined to provide a proxy for
purchase intent. In this case, scores of 4 and 5 were combined
Purchase intent at a price of
$4 is high at 85%, perhaps
indicating a generally
accepted price point
Unsurprisingly, purchase
intent at a price of $8 falls to
55%, indicating that there is
some price elasticity in the
craft beer market
PURCHASE INTENT: TEST CASES
85%
55%
95%
70%
95%
65%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
$4 $8
Lik
ely
to
Pu
rch
ase
Top 2 Box Purchase Intent
Control +$1 Non-Profit
With the addition of the
socially conscious test cases,
the purchase intent increased
to 95% and 70%, respectively,
proving our hypothesis
Of particular note, the
purchase intent for the $8+1
option increased 15 points vs
10 points on the $4+1 option,
perhaps indicating the ability
to take a premium price* while
serving a community mission
* Further pricing analysis may be required to determine the
optimal price to maximize revenue and social giving; however, it
does appear that the idea of +$1 is more powerful than a non-
profit entity. Additional test cases could include a % give back vs.
a specific dollar amount
+15 Points
GEORGIA: LAGGING BEHIND IN CRAFT BEER
Source: Brewers Association
According to the Brewers Association, Georgia has 28 craft
breweries as of 2013, ranking near the bottom of the US (47 of
50) in breweries per capita with 0.4 per 100,000 adults. By
comparison, Oregon, the number 1 state for craft beer, boasts
6.3 breweries per 100,000 adults
THE SOUTH: A CASE FOR UPSIDE IN CRAFT BEER CONSUMPTION?
39% 49%
28% 41%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
MIDWEST NORTHEAST SOUTH WEST
% o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Drink Prefernce by Region
Wine
I don't
drink
Bud, Miller,
or Coors
Spirits
Craft Beer
The numbers from our survey
independently confirm the Brewers
Association findings in that the South
region shows the lowest preference for
Craft Beer in the country at 28%.
A case can be made that the South
lags behind the rest of the country due
to recently repealed “blue laws”
restricting the sale of alcohol and
prohibitive distribution codes.
As the South discovers craft beer,
there is potentially more upside in
market growth as places like Georgia
catch up with national trends
CONCLUSIONS
/ Our data supports the hypothesis that a brewery supporting a socially conscious mission has an opportunity to differentiate itself in the marketplace
/ In addition, such a brewery may be able to charge a premium price above what a non-socially conscious brewery could capture
/ Data from the Brewers Association along with our own data indicates an optimistic craft beer growth outlook for Georgia as it catches up with the national trends
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS:
/ What is the target customer for a socially conscious brewery?
/ What is the optimal price point / pricing structure to maximize revenue and giving?
/ What business model is most likely to succeed: brewery for distribution or brew pub?
/ What does a pro forma revenue and cost model look like?
/ What level of investment is required to start a brewery?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chris got his start brewing for his church’s Wednesday night suppers and firmly believes that if Jesus were around today, he’d be turning water into beer – not wine.
By day, Chris takes care of global strategic marketing insights for a company that affords him frequent trips to Belgium.
By night, he is working to get his socially conscious brewery, Yoke & Table, off the ground.
You can contact Chris at
email: [email protected] Twitter: @chrisprotos
POTENTIAL TARGET CUSTOMER PROFILE
Based on the demographic data captured in our survey, the potential target craft beer
drinker has the following characteristics:
/ Male
/ Age between 25 and 44
/ Income greater than $100,000
/ Urban residence
Note: the sample is not large enough to determine the profile likely to respond to a
socially conscious product – additional testing is required. Our hypothesis is that this
group may skew younger, more urban, and show greater gender balance between
men and women when compared to the general craft beer drinker
DEMOGRAPHICS: GENDER MORE MEN PREFER CRAFT BEER COMPARED TO WOMEN
23%
48%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Female Male
% o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Drink Prefernce by Gender
Wine
I don't drink
Bud, Miller, or
Coors
Spirits
Craft Beer
130
185
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Female Male
# o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Respondents by Gender
DEMOGRAPHICS: AGE THE 25-34 AND 35-44 AGE COHORTS SHOW THE GREATEST PREFERENCE
30% 41% 44%
36%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54
% o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Drink Prefernce by Age
Wine
I don't drink
Bud, Miller, or
Coors
Spirits
Craft Beer
94
141
55
28
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54
# o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Respondents by Age
DEMOGRAPHICS: INCOME HIGHER INCOMES SHOW MORE PREFERENCE FOR CRAFT BEER
37% 28%
42% 38% 44%
55%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
% o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Drink Prefernce by Income
Wine
I don't drink
Bud, Miller,
or Coors
Spirits
Craft Beer
54
105
74
29 27 20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
# o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Respondents by Income
DEMOGRAPHICS: URBAN DENSITY SUBURBAN AND URBAN PREFER CRAFT BEER COMPARED TO RURAL
37% 40% 33%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Suburban Urban Rural
% o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Drink Prefernce by Urban Density
Wine
I don't
drink
Bud,
Miller,
or CoorsSpirits
Craft
Beer
167
96
58
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Suburban Urban Rural
# o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Respondents by Urban Density