Big Brewers Address ‘Paradoxical’ Beer Consumption Patterns As Summer Begins

It’s safe to say the past few years have been “unprecedented,’ what with a pandemic that locked down the world, followed up by the worst inflation that we’ve seen in 40 years. And that the past few years have profoundly altered consumer beer  buying behavior. That’s resulted in a paradox of sorts: more consumers are staying home, while at the same time, on-premise sales surging.

And Beer & Beyond, a very decent Molson Coors B2B site recently focused on how beer consumption patterns may have changed.

On-Premise Beer Sales in Recovery Mode

“On-premise” beer sales is an industry terms that refers to beer consumed at restaurants, bars and taprooms, places that you go out too as opposed to drinking at home. And according to Nielsen CGA consumers have largely returned to bars and restaurants, with visits nearly reaching pre-pandemic levels.

Morning Consult found more than 75% of consumers are once again becoming comfortable going to a restaurant or café and not only are consumers returning, they’re spending more.

“The on-premise is such a big part of our business. We have three brands in Miller Lite, Coors Light and Blue Moon that do really well, and things like Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy that are massive for us in the summertime,” says Andrew McGuire, chief commercial solutions officer at Molson Coors told Beer & Beyond. ”The more folks that come back and choose our core beers, that should benefit us overall.”

But then, at the other end of the spectrum, there’s this…

More Beer Consumers Than Ever Are Choosing To Drink and Entertain At Home

“Habits born in the pandemic, influenced by price increases and negative experiences at restaurants and bars have people thinking more about the ‘home premise,’ says Scott Scanlon, executive vice president for beverage alcohol at Circana. “People have become accustomed to dining, drinking and celebrating at home instead of the on-premise, especially the younger generation.”

And Molson Coors isn’t the only major beer company actively exploring this new demographic. One obvious example is Anheuser-Busch’s Stella Artois’ recent “Table Drop” campaign, which is all about drinking with friends and entertaining at home.

“Stella Artois has long positioned itself as a premium lager,” reports Marketing Dive.  A significant proportion of its business has been rooted in restaurant dining. While many brands took a hit during the height of the pandemic, Stella Artois felt the restaurant shutdown particularly hard.”

“In a world where we strive for connection, Stella Artois’ role as a brand to authentically bring people together over dinner is more relevant than ever,” said Marcela Garcia, Vice President of Marketing for Stella Artois…. “Throughout the course of the year, we’ll leverage the power of Stella Artois to create meaningful connections over dinner and around casual meals to become a mealtime staple.”

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