CGA by NIQ’s client director Paul Bolton shared some beer market consumer insights when he was taking part in a webinar with the British Beer and Pub Association and UKHospitality recently. Here is what he said.
Although, he says, beer sales have been under pressure in recent years, there is plenty of headroom for growth. This is where he sees opportunities and its great news for the on-trade.
Pubs have been driving growth, with sales through food pubs and community pubs in 2023 rising 4% and 2% respectively. This lead to market share gains attracting almost 43% of all spending on drinks in the On Premise in 2023.
While a squeeze on spending has led some people to drink fewer beers, many of them are looking for better options when they do so. Asked about purchases if their total spend were the same, three in five say (60%) say they would buy one or two high quality drinks—much more than the number (40%) who would buy three, four or five cheaper ones.
Which brings us to the premiumisation trend. It helped the world lager category to achieve a 23.3% share of LAD sales in 2023—up by 2.6 percentage points year-on-year. Standard lager went the other way, dropping 1.4 percentage points to 20.8%. At the end of 2023, draught world lager was stocked in more than two thirds (69.1%) of outlets.
Draught serves took 94.1% of all beer volumes in 2023. While packaged volumes were down 5.9%, no and low alcohol beers achieved an eye-catching increase of 28.6%. With abstinence and moderation becoming more popular, more gains can be expected in 2024.
Stout is another sub-category winner. It grew its volumes by 18%, and now has an 8.1% share of the LAD market. Its target market is widening fast, and BrandTrack research shows more women, younger adults and professionals are embracing it.
However, the success of stout has come at the expense of cask ale. Its sales by volume fell 5.7% in 2023, extending a longer term downward trend. Craft keg sales were a rare bright spot in this category, with sales flat.
As we know, sport sells beer, with sales spiking around big sporting occasions. CGA’s data revealed an average uplift of 23% on matchdays during the Rugby World Cup, and the ongoing Six Nations will have a similar effect. Capitalising on big events will be crucial to growth for brands and venues in 2024.
If you want to learn more about CGA’s analysis to help suppliers and operators gain sales and share, email Paul Bolton at paul.bolton@nielseniq.com.