DATAMONITOR VIEW 1
CATALYST 1
SUMMARY 1
ANALYSIS 2
The introduction of a "green" focused message into the UK beer category marks a change in tack for the category 2
ABInBev has developed a holistic set of green initiatives in Stella Artois' marketing 2
Volume sales in the UK beer category are falling, reflecting a challenging market scenario in recent years 4
The on-trade is spearheading the decline of the UK alcoholic beverage sector 4
Greater competition for consumer spend is driving a fall in on-trade beer sales 5
UK larger lager brands typically trade heavily on price, while smaller successful brands typically have a distinct market positioning 6
Stella Artois is a well-established brand in the UK beer category that predominately targets young adult consumers 7
Affluent men aged 18-34 years old are the core target audience for Stella Artois 9
Younger men are not necessarily the optimum target group for a reduced packaging message 10
Alcohol still lags behind the wider CPG goods in green and ethically aligned messages, but the Stella campaign arguably reflects a change of emphasis 13
The lightweight bottle, and reduced packaging moreover, is at the forefront of the latest Stella Artois campaign 14
Lightweight packaging also has positive cost implications for ABInBev 16
The campaign takes the concept of the "hedge fund" and turns it on its head 16
Conclusions and implications 17
APPENDIX 20
Definitions 20
Methodology 21
Secondary sources 22
Further reading 22
Ask the analyst 22
Datamonitor consulting 22
Disclaimer 23
List of Tables
Table 1: Market insight: UK Beer and Wine volume, by product category, 2003-2014 20
Table 2: Market insight: UK Beer and Wine volume, on-trade share, 2003-2009 20
Table 3: Consumer survey: perceived influence that reduced packaging has when making food and beverage choices, by age within gender, 2009 20
Table 4: Consumer survey: perceived influence that reduced packaging has on product choice of UK consumers, by CPG sector, 2010 21
Table 5: Product insight: new products claiming organic and reduced packaging benefits, by CPG sector, June 2008-June 2010 21
List of Figures
Figure 1: The Stella Artois lightweight bottle and the Recyclage Deluxe campaign clearly emphasize the brand's new green positioning 3
Figure 2: UK beer volume sales fell 6% between 2003 and 2009, while wine volume sales rose 11% over the same time period 4
Figure 3: The pursuit of products with environmental and/or ethical credentials can have health connotations which is why the 'ethical wellbeing' trend should be recognized by industry players 7
Figure 4: History of significant Stella Artois new product launches in the UK 8
Figure 5: ABInBev have focused on ingredient simplicity and sub-brand extensions to enhance the Stella Artois brand 9
Figure 6: UK men aged 18-34 are the most likely to visit pubs, bars and restaurants on a regular basis 10
Figure 7: Men aged 18-34 in the UK are no different than the national average in the influence that reduced packaging has when they make food and beverage choices 11
Figure 8: As a proportion of the UK population, men aged 20-34 has fallen and is expected to remain flat in the medium-term 12
Figure 9: In the UK, alcohol lags behind other CPG sectors-particularly food and personal care-in new product launches aimed at green/ethical consumers 13
Figure 10: In the UK, the influence that amount of packaging has on the choice of alcoholic beverage is lower than in other CPG sectors 15
Figure 11: These new reduced packaging pouched product launches from the UK market highlight a new direction for product packaging 18