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Organic Booze

June 21, 2010 No Comments

I just got back from a trip to LA and my head is spinning with matters having to do with green in general and organic in particular.

I saw the following on a brochure for the Santa Monica aquarium:

“Printed on 100% recycled content, 100% post-consumer waste, processed chlorine free paper using soy-based inks.”

Once I got past the ‘post-consumer waste’ part, I thought, did they expect people to read or eat the brochure? But, these are important matters and we need to pay attention to what is becoming the “green” lifestyle. Including the alcohol industry.

The June issue of Cheers has a cover story on organic drinking. The following tidbit of information caught my eye.

According to the Greenfield, Ma.-based Organic Trade Association, sales of organic beer, wine and spirits were up last year. Organic beer sales totaled $41 million in 2009, up 11.7 percent from 2008; organic wine sales equaled $161 million, up 7.5 percent; and spirits were up 16 percent with $7 million in sales.

A drop in the bucket, sure, but there is a market for organic alcohol products especially in wine. In spirits, it’s the vodka category that leads the way with dozens of entries although Chatham Imports (Crop Organic Vodka) recently introduced Farmer’s Botanical Gin. In tequila, more and more organic products are entering the market.

The gist of the article seems to indicate that the organic trend in alcohol is here to stay.

A consumer friend who is not in the industry can best sum up my view:

“If organic means smoother, purer, better tasting, I’m all for it. But to tell you the truth, when I’m having a drink, I’m not thinking about hugging trees.”

Beer Market Woes

June 1, 2010 No Comments

Today’s issue of Ad Age Daily has a lead story on declining beer sales. Ad Age Daily

Industry shipments are down 4% (Beer Institute); for the four weeks ending May 16, only 4 of the top 30 brands posted gains (SymphonyIRI); the big boys saw large declines – Bud Light down 5.3% and Miller Lite down 7.5%, both vs. 2009 sales.

How come?

I don’t think it’s the economy, beer held its own vs. spirits and wine at the height of the recession…why should it decline now?

Could it be the growth at the top and bottom of the beer market? Craft beers and imports are doing okay as are the price brands. Bud Light and Miller Lite are hurting and that’s enough to upset the entire category.

Maybe after a few years of substituting beer for wine and spirits, consumers have returned to pre-recession consumption patterns.

My view is that the marketplace is cluttered with light beers including new entries such as MGD 64 and Budweiser Select 55. Adding to the clutter is a barrage of new products, line extensions, brand extensions at all price tiers, especially the top end. And, let’s not forget about the growth in craft beers.

So, maybe it’s just that consumers are drinking less but drinking better. Those of us in the spirits world know that phenomenon well.

True Fans

May 18, 2010 No Comments

I got a lot of comment (mostly positive so far) about my last posting on “How Small is the Market.”

Like many businesses, the market for alcohol follows the old 20/80 rule. Twenty percent of your customers account for 80% of your business.

I came across a posting on a marketing blog that goes the next step.

I follow Seth Godin, a marketing guru, a prolific writer and someone well worth following and reading. Lots of insights.

A recent post of his is called “The circles (no more strangers)” and deals with the value of a “true fan” vs. “strangers.”

He concludes his posting with:

Let’s say a marketer has $10,000 to spend. Is it better to acquire new customers at $2,000 each (advertising is expensive) or spend $10 a customer to absolutely delight and overwhelm 1,000 true fans?

Check out his blog…there’s good stuff there. Here’s a link to this posting — Seth’s Blog