Beer is emotion – Insight into deeper drives and motives as a foundation for a decision-making model and a new vision for the beer market
The beer market is incredibly dynamic, with crates of beer being the absolute traffic generators in the supermarket channel. The major Dutch brewers are aware that national beer sales are under pressure, and so are looking for ways to escape commoditization with innovations. Meanwhile, with craft beer on the rise, there are also new microbreweries that have become extremely popular.Bavaria wanted deeper insight into the drinker in the beer category. What people buy, where they buy it, how often, and how much are well-known facts. But what had not yet been identified, is why people consume certain drinks. In addition, there is clear evidence of blurring towards other product categories, while all the available research to date has also focused mainly on beer and the companies’ own brands. Bavaria wanted to formulate a vision for the beer category in order to determine where the category's growth will come from in the coming years and how the category (retailer and brewer together) can respond to changing consumer needs. Bavaria's question to Altuïtion was twofold: The company wanted qualitative insight, but with a clear quantification to determine the growth potential of various directions. Altuïtion entered into a collaboration with BrainJuicer to answer this question.
Using an Experience Analysis conducted by Altuïtion, a concrete decision-making model was formulated that provides insight into the way in which individuals subconsciously decide what to drink. A consumer can no longer be drawn in based on demographic characteristics; instead, a segmentation according to need seems to apply to beverages. Each need is defined by its own drives and motives, leading to the need for certain product characteristics. This model and other insights were then quantitatively tested in close collaboration with BrainJuicer.
These insights and potential for the future were then translated into a vision for the category that provides insight into where the growth within the beer category will come from in the coming years. These insights also provide a roadmap for Bavaria's plans for the coming years in terms of strategy, product and packaging innovations, and communication on the work floor and ATL activities.
For a family business that bases many decisions on instinct and business acumen, it was enlightening to generate such insights category-wide. According to Bavaria's Shopper Marketing Manager and Brand Manager, “it's time to further professionalize as an organization and to formulate a clear vision of the beer category together with the retailers. The first step was to gain in-depth insight into the beverage needs of consumers. What makes someone choose a specific drink? And why don't they always choose the same drink? That is why it was important to understand the deep drives and motives behind drinking and not just the background of drinking beer. Beer is often pure emotion, which is why we felt it was important to fully fathom the reasoning behind drinking beer. We wanted to see things from a consumer perspective and not just rely on our instinct.
Through the collaboration between Altuïtion and BrainJuicer, we have gained in-depth insights and also know where there is room to grow and which products have potential. This combination of qualitative and quantitative research has been very valuable, as it has enabled us to define concrete objectives for growth for the beer category. Our retail partners have also received the story with enthusiasm, and we are using this to create a new position in our discussions.” Bavaria has previously called upon Altuïtion's research methodology to provide insight into the target groups and the potential growth directions of the 8.6 brand.
