By Olaf van Gerwen, Founder and Global Creative Director, Chuck Studios
Spoiler alert: of course not. That would be saying alcohol consumption is nothing but awesome. In Brabant, the Southern part of The Netherlands where I grew up, the pattern of weekends was: start drinking beer – fall over – sleep – repeat. And in between, a silly job to pay for it all. But things have changed: Gen Z are opting instead for sober socialising, with online gaming, visiting cafes, and going to the cinema gaining popularity over going out for a drink.
As a result, the beer industry is facing sobering challenges. Beer remains a staple of supermarket shelves and social occasions, but it finds itself in a cultural context of optimisation culture, protein-maxxing and GLP-1-driven consumer behaviour.
As International Beer Day approaches in August, the time is right for the industry to reflect on beer’s place in modern drinking culture. The bigger question is not how beer can emulate the recent success of functional drinks, but how it can better communicate what makes it unique.
The functional fight for attention
The rise of functional beverages offers an interesting contrast. Whether it’s gut health, reduced sugar, added protein or increased energy, these products solve a clearly defined consumer need.
With the global functional beverages market set to reach $339.6 billion by 2030, thanks to the success of brands like Olipop and Poppi, it’s tempting for brewers to conclude that beer needs to follow suit and consider being ‘functional’. The calming drinks brand TRIP, for example, was created to help with stress management and mental wellness, while Tenzing offers a healthier, more natural energy boost compared to traditional energy drinks. Without decades of heritage to navigate, they can create identities, packaging and messaging specifically designed for today’s market.
But high fibre, protein and vitamin beer? Can you see these becoming customer staples like Olipop and Poppi? I don’t think so. The challenge is not whether brewers can create functional variants, but whether they should. I don’t think consumers actually want beer to play that role in the first place. I would argue the opposite. Beer’s future isn’t about becoming more functional. It’s about becoming more distinctive.
Seeing double
Consumers can instantly recognise an Aperol Spritz or a Guinness. Bright orange and dark brown stand out in an ocean of yellow lager with white foam. That visual standout is a beautiful symbol of the struggle beer brands face in being distinctively different from competitors. That may sound controversial to beer enthusiasts who will happily debate the hoppy or malty flavour profiles of their favourite brews for hours, but many mainstream lagers occupy remarkably similar territory. I for one do not consider or even remember which beer is on tap in a bar, because to me, they are largely the same.
And to make things worse, across the category, beer brand’s positioning tends to revolve around three familiar themes: refreshment, social connection or heritage. These are powerful attributes, but when every brand leans on the same pillars, they plunge into a sea of sameness. As a filmmaker in food & drinks, can you imagine how many gorgeous but generic beer swirls I have shot cascading into a glass? That is a big, beautiful mistake.
Tapping into emotion
People don’t open a beer because they’re seeking fibre or vitamins. They open a beer to unwind after work, celebrate with friends, enjoy a barbecue or watch a game of footie together. Bottom line: beer is about shared experiences, with a hint of escapism. Pretty much the opposite of functionality. Beer already performs a function, just not a nutritional one. Its value is social, cultural and emotional.
That doesn’t mean innovation should stop. Numerous variants of famous beers are up for consideration: Radler, Rosé, Unfiltered, Bright, Blonde, with added Sea Salt, with Strawberries and Cream: the endless list is a reflection of the brewers filling every possible gap on the portfolio matrix.
Innovation and trend-hopping is easier for new brands with no legacy but if you’re the likes of Carlsberg or Heineken you have history that must be acknowledged. Alienating your loyal customer base is a risky move. Which means any innovation must feel authentic, and have a proper ‘brand fit’. Consumers are often quick to spot when a brand is stretching beyond its natural role.
The 0% opportunity
Perhaps the most significant development in beer over the last decade has been the growth of low and no-alcohol alternatives. Far from being a niche category, 0% beer has become a mainstream choice, even though some people have a little trouble understanding that.
What’s particularly interesting to me is why people are choosing it. For many people, alcohol-free beer isn’t replacing the social experience associated with beer – it’s preserving it. With a 0.0 in hand at a party, I still feel like I’m participating in the ritual. I don’t have that party pooper look of sipping a glass of water. And: placebo effect is real. But, I simply don’t want (all of) the alcohol. In my case, it’s because of my age that hangovers now have biblical proportions, but when looking at younger consumers, it also reflects a broader cultural shift.
While the social role of beer remains highly valued, a brand new You Gov study shows that one third of drinkers have reduced their alcohol intake over the past 12 months. And to top it all off: we’ve seen debates crop up over time around whether the ‘smart’ and ‘moderate’ use of recreational drugs can be less damaging than party drinking. At the same time, wellness and moderation continue to shape purchasing decisions.
In fact, last year set a record for low and no-alcohol beer consumption, with a staggering 200 million pints sold in Britain. And that’s with GLP1 drugs in their infancy stage. Just imagine.
Distinctiveness is the real growth strategy
While beer brands don’t need to become functional, they do need to become more distinctive. Have a point of view on why you exist in the world. Many main stream beer brands suffer the consequences of a global positioning, trend following and corporate polishing. At the same time, we’ve seen beer brands serve up The Most Interesting Man and grow massively. Or be the beer for a Mexican beach experience, with a slice of lime. Be dark brown and bitter in brown bars, have a harp as a logo (and a Netflix series maybe). Tell fantastical stories of Italian lakes.
The strongest brands own a clear and memorable brand idea, show a unique brand world, and speak a brand language. They use distinctiveness, consistency, brand salience and mental availability as drivers. They express their DNA through remarkable campaigns and images that are designed to be uniquely theirs. Because refreshing, sociable and delicious…is simply not enough.
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