Almost three in five Brits who buy alcoholic drinks say it’s important that the industry defines what is meant by the term craft, as new research shows that perceptions differ between consumers.
Close to 40% of Brits bought an alcoholic drink featuring a “craft” claim in the three months to November 2015, despite 30% of them saying that they didn’t understand exactly what the term meant, according to a survey from Mintel.
Consumers were torn as to whether craft alcohol should be defined in terms of a unique flavour, high-quality ingredients, care of production, or small batch sizes. Those four explanations alone were each cited by between 41% and 47% of respondents, suggesting that understanding of the word craft has become confused and fragmented.
One third of British alcohol consumers say that it has become difficult to separate craft brands from those that are not. 35% argue that a brand should not be called craft if it is acquired by a larger company, 38% agree that brands cannot be considered craft if they grow too big, and more than half see buying into the craft segment as a way of supporting small-scale and independent brewers.
The lack of a decisive definition was not discouraging consumers from buying craft alcohol but did cause confusion, Mintel said.
Chris Wisson, senior drinks analyst for Mintel, said: “The lack of an industry-agreed definition has not hindered the growth of craft so far, but it has led to the term being misinterpreted and, increasingly, misused. Consumers are likely to become increasingly demanding of brands which claim to be ‘craft’, and the onus is on these brands to ensure that they can provide clear evidence of their craft credentials. The uncertainty around the term dilutes its ability to differentiate brands or justify a higher price. This suggests the need to reference other, more tangible points of difference to capture customers’ attention.”
Mintel research finds that excessively high pricing may hinder the growth of the sector in the future. Over 40% of Brits who buy alcoholic drinks say that they “get less for their money with craft alcohol”, while only 28% say that craft drinks are worth paying more for.
5% of beer buyers would pay in excess of £5 for a pint of craft beer, 24% would be willing to spend over £4 and 21% would prefer to spend less than £3 per pint.
“Many craft beers are justifiably more expensive than mainstream brands, reflecting economies of scale but also the ingredients used,” Wisson continued. “While consumer interest in seeing a wider variety of beers in the on-trade should benefit craft variants, overpricing poses a potential barrier to the continued growth of the segment.”
But prevailingly, taste was the most important factor to consumers. 70% of Brits who buy alcohol say that the flavour of a craft brew is more important than the name on the bottle.
Wisson concluded: “The importance attached to taste is likely to be driving the interest in craft-style products from larger drink producers. This suggests that the large drinks companies can tap into the craft movement either by producing their own craft products or by acquiring smaller companies, with their success ultimately likely to be determined by the actual quality of the drinks.”
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