A taste for temperance: how American beer got to be so bland

ABSTRACT

This article examines the historical origins of bland American beer. The US was not strongly associated with a particular beer type until German immigrants popularised lager beer. Lager, refreshing and mildly intoxicating, met the demands of America's growing working class. Over time, American lager became lighter and blander. This article emphasises America's uncommonly strong temperance movement, which put the industry on the defensive. Brewers pushed their product as ‘the beverage of moderation,’ and consumers sought out light, relatively non-intoxicating beers. The recent ‘craft beer revolution’ is explained as a backlash aided by a changing consumer culture and improved information technology.     

The Effect of Advertising on the Total Consumption of Alcoholic Drinks in the United Kingdom: Some Econometric Estimates

This paper reports upon an econometric investigation, using aggregate time series data, of the influence of prices, income and advertising upon the demand for alcoholic drink in the UK. The demand for alcoholic drink as a whole is studied initially, and then the analysis is disaggregated to the more detailed level of beer, spirits and wine, taken separately. Income appears to have a marked effect on the demand for these products, and price elasticities are in most cases low.

There is no evidence of a link between total advertising and the total consumption of all alcoholic drinks, spirits or wine. For beer, the evidence on the demand—advertising relationship is ambiguous but, for reasons discussed in the paper, there must be considerable doubt that beer advertising has had an expansionary effect on total beer consumption.     

假丝酵母对啤酒及无酒精饮料的危害

假丝酵母是一类较弱发酵能力的酵母,有氧条件下生长,厌氧条件下发酵乙醇。在啤酒生产企业和饮料生产企业中,假丝酵母经常在样品中污染。假丝酵母对啤酒生产中麦汁、发酵液、清酒、成品酒的污染情况不同;对无酒精饮料生产中原料、半成品及成品污染情况不同。淡爽型啤酒和无酒精饮料中抑制物浓度较低,抑菌效果不显著,更易出现微生物污染,假丝酵母的检出显得更为重要。     

Purchase Attributes of Wine Consumers with Low Involvement

Abstract

The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in wine consumption. With this increase comes the need to understand how consumers choose wine. Wine consumers have different types of experiences and expectations, and a one bottle fits all method of catering to wine consumers is not an appropriate marketing strategy. Consumer segmentation based upon involvement with wine is critical to understanding buying behaviors. This study used factor analysis and logistic regression to identify the wine novice and what marketing cues they use to purchase wine. The results identified key marketing cues wine novices use to purchase wine and revealed yet another involvement category: the emerging wine learner.     

Advertising and Alcohol Demand in the UK: Further Results

Johnson (1985) presents a system-wide analysis on the effects of advertising on the demand for beer, wine and spirits in the UK. However, his results are not consistent with other studies in the area. This paper shows that his results can be improved by using a different demand equation for the alcoholic beverages group. Furthermore, this paper also considers the analysis of treating advertising as a stock rather than a flow. This analysis reveals that advertising on beer, wine and spirits depreciates in consumers' minds fully within a year.     

Household production of sorghum beer in Benin: technological and socio‐economic aspects

This study evaluated the sorghum brewing microenterprises in Benin with emphasis on the beer quality, the social significance of the product as well as the income generated. Tchoukoutou, the Benin opaque sorghum beer, has important social functions as it fosters the cooperative spirit and remains an ancestral beverage widely used for traditional ceremonies. The manufacturing process consists of malting (soaking, germination and sun drying), brewing (mashing, boiling, filtration) and fermentation. The beer is sour with a pH of 3.2 and contains a relatively high but variable level of solids and crude protein. Most of the consumers appreciate an opaque, sour and pink‐coloured beer. The consumers related many of the beer properties to health effects. Participants can link the perceived qualities of the beer to the grain’s functional properties, and this leads to the classification of the farmers’ sorghum as varieties of top, medium and low quality for brewing. The profits from tchoukoutou production range from 2365 to 17 212 fcfa per month (1 euro = 656 fcfa) for the producers, depending on beer yield and quantity of raw grain transformed. The generated income is used for household needs and part of it is invested in children’s education.     

Consumer sensitivity to changes in tax policy on consumption of alcohol

Marketers and economists have followed the consumption patterns of alcoholic beverages for many years. Public officials have studied the negative effects of consuming alcohol and have advocated a variety of measures to curtail consumption. Previous studies have also measured the price elasticity. This comparative study is based on a 40‐year analysis, and compares the consumption patterns for beer, spirits and wine in three Nordic countries. Although the cultural context of Denmark, Norway and Sweden are similar, nevertheless significant differences in the patterns of consumption and prices for alcoholic beverages have been evidenced overtime. A comparison of the per capita drinking patterns and the taxation effectiveness are presented. Even though the elasticities varied, the data indicate relative sensitivity to price changes and a decline in spirits consumption as well as switching effects to lower alcohol‐content beverages.     

Market-Oriented New Product Design of Functional Orange Juice Beverages: A Qualitative Approach

Abstract

The functional beverages category is considered one of the most significant drivers of new product development (NPD) in recent years. Fifteen in-depth interviews and three focus groups were held between February and March 2003 to identify the most important attributes influencing consumers' purchase decisions for orange juice, and to explore consumers' attitudes towards existing and new functional orange juice beverages. The results suggested that functional food and beverage manufacturers should place a greater emphasis on the base product when evaluating new product concepts. This study highlighted the key role of qualitative research in facilitating the integration of consumers with the concept stage of the NPD process.     

To go or not to go,that is the question: Using social influence to reduce hot beverage cup waste

ABSTRACT

While most consumers today feel concerned by environmental issues, the consumption of hot beverage in disposable cups remains very important. In this study, we use influence strategies related to social norms to reduce these behaviors and get consumers to consume their hot beverage in reusable cups. 14373 orders were analyzed and demonstrate that normative messages can be effective to change consumer behavior toward a more responsible choices.     

Death and re-birth of Alabama beer

ABSTRACT

The article provides a historical overview of Alabama beer production to the first state-wide prohibition in 1909. I discuss the legislative processes, including the second state-wide prohibition, the US national prohibition and repeal, and Alabama's return to local option rule for alcohol sales. The article describes the legal changes of the 1992 Brewpub Act that created the re-birth of Alabama breweries/brewpubs in the early 1990s and discusses the recent legislative changes and issues that have encouraged entrepreneurs to enter the Alabama marketplace.     

Social Interaction and Beer Consumption

The aim of this article is to describe young consumers’ attitudes and conduct regarding beer consumption, analyzing the consumer as an individual (addressing internal factors) and in a collective (external factors). The research was designed in Brazil involving 52 participants, divided into 16 focus groups, and the respective data was transcribed and analyzed. The findings show three distinct types of consumers were identified. The authors termed these the Inductor, the Induced, and the Sophisticated. The article details how each type of consumer can be distinguished through different attitudes and factors. The results suggest that, rather than thinking of beer consumption as an individual item, beer consumption should be thought of as different types, involving different behavior, attitudes, and social interaction. The article demonstrates originality and value to put forward the notion that beer consumption should not be defined as an individual item. The framework offered in this article will assist future researchers to consider consumption of different types and brands of beer, based on social interaction.     

Managing Opportunism in China: The Roles of Guanxi,Environmental Uncertainty,and Management Culture

ABSTRACT

This cross-cultural comparison aims to understand whether the influence of consumer ethnocentrism (CE) on consumer preference for domestic versus foreign products is product category and country-of-origin dependent. Three countries with dissimilar cultural orientation and economic status—China, South Korea, and the United States—were examined. American consumers were found to be more ethnocentric than Chinese and South Korean consumers. CE was found to significantly and positively predict American and Korean consumers’ preference for domestic products across product categories, while Chinese consumers’ CE did not translate into their preference for Chinese products. In addition, the relationship between CE and purchase preference varied across product categories as well as countries of origin.     

Brand personality inference: The moderating role of product meaning

Abstract

This study draws on categorisation theory to investigate how consumers make brand personality inferences. Its purpose is to determine the basic category at which consumers make brand personality inferences and whether this level varies for functional and symbolic products. Experimental results show that the basic level of categorisation for brand personality inferences is the brand level for symbolic products and the product type level for functional products. These findings suggest that managers may have less latitude to adopt diverse personalities for functional than symbolic products. The study also demonstrates that, in contrast to prior work, future research on brand personality should consider a wider range of sources of personality.     

葡萄酒消费行为影响因素分析

葡萄酒是一种健康的酒精饮料,在我国潜在消费市场巨大,发展前景良好。葡萄酒的消费行为受外在因素、内在因素、营销因素三个方面的影响。葡萄酒企业制定营销计划应以消费者为中心,针对葡萄酒消费市场的特点以及消费者的需求,巧妙灵活、广泛宣传葡萄酒健康功能、美容功能、社交功能,刺激消费者的购买欲望,建立消费者对葡萄酒的认知度和忠诚度。同时,结合我国传统文化、各区域历史、民族、饮食等文化,建立具有中国特色的葡萄酒文化,使葡萄酒真正的走进消费者的生活中。     

Are Sustainable Consumers Health Conscious? A Segmentation Study of Wine Consumers

As a result of consumers’ increasing concerns with ethical, environmental, and health issues, sustainable consumption and production have become a popular topic of recent academic research and industry practices. The current study sought to provide in-depth insights into consumers’ views on sustainability by simultaneously examining their environmental and social awareness and behavior, health-conscious lifestyles, and diets; as well as the perceived importance of social and nutrition information on wine labels. Based on empirical data obtained through a web-based survey distributed to consumer panels in three markets – the US, the UK, and Germany – this research segmented wine consumers into four categories: Apathetic Consumers; Health-Conscious Diners; Holistic Perfectionists; and Ethical Advocates. The findings indicate that in general wine consumers are mindful about the environmental problems, social responsibility of companies, ethically produced and sustainably sourced products. The majority adhere to healthy lifestyles and watch their diets. Nevertheless, with the exception of only one cluster (Holistic Perfectionists), wine consumers do not actively seek social, environmental, or nutritional information on wine labels. This study shows that, at least currently, the preferences for the social factors are unlikely to outweigh dominating traditional wine purchase drivers, such as price, brand, country of origin, and grape variety. Industry implications for tailored marketing strategies are discussed.     

Dodo Lé Là: how consumers promote a local iconic brand in postcolonial creole culture

ABSTRACT

This videography shows how consumers in the Reunion Island (France) promote a local Dodo beer towards an iconic status through their identity work. An alternative approach to Holt’s theorising on iconic brands is taken on two levels. First, the videography contributes by offering a non-American, postcolonial and creole aspect of a brand myth-making, as well as the ‘promotion’ of the brand by the local consumers and multi-ethnic community. Second, the consumers’ voice in citing the brand is examined (Nakassis, 2012. American Anthropologist, 114(4), 624–638.). Based on the findings, the citing of the brand happens in two different ways: when including it into personalised identity narratives and when producing new brand tokens, thus nurturing the brand ontology further.     

An Econometric Study of the Demand for Various Types of Wines and Spirits in the United Kingdom

The purpose of this study is to investigate by econometric methods the influence of changes in prices, advertising and consumer tastes upon the pattern of demand for eight different types of wines and spirits during the 1970s in the United Kingdom.

Relative prices are found to play possibly an important role in the determination of wine products' market shares, but to have been insignificant in the spirits sector.

Relative levels of advertising may affect the pattern of demand between products in the way suggested by Galbraith, but the influence appears to be weak.

Product market shares may be invariant with respect to the size of the total spirits market, although this conclusion is held with least confidence for brandy which appears to grow at a relatively slow rate on average. However, wine product shares do fluctuate with the size of the total demand for wine products.

The disaggregated wine equations would appear to provide a potentially useful framework for detailed demand forecasting. However, the advantages of disaggregated analysis for this purpose are not as pronounced in the case of the spirits sector.     

A Conjoint Analysis of Quality Wine

Abstract

Weighted least squares approach for conjoint analysis is used to examine buyer preferences towards wines produced in different Spanish regions. Two producer regions are considered, Na-varra and Aragon, and three wine attributes: price, origin and grape vintage year (wine age). In both regions, differences between urban and rural consumers' preferences are tested. Results indicate that the origin of the grapes is the most important attribute for the wine consumer. Rural consumers prefer locally produced wines while Rioja wines are better considered by urban consumers. The price and the age of the wines are secondary attributes in consumer preferences. Finally, some market segments are formed based on individual consumer preferences and some of their sociodemographic characteristics in order to address differentiated marketing strategies to these segments.     

Designing the content of advertising in a differentiated market

In many markets, consumers use attribute information to assess the value they expect from purchasing a product or service. This includes many low involvement experience goods including take-out food, many packaged good categories and restaurants. In these markets, quality differences exist but many differences are horizontal in nature: the consumer is interested in finding a product that meets her unique tastes. Beyond ensuring that consumers know the brand, the category and the price; it seems advertising should provide consumers with attribute information. However, a significant proportion of advertising does not provide it. In fact, within the same category, competitors respond to messages that emphasize detailed attribute information with messages that are devoid of attribute information. These messages are uninformative about product attributes. We explore how competition in a differentiated market is affected by the ability of a firm has to choose uninformative messages. We construct a model to investigate the factors that affect a firm’s decision to use advertising with detailed attribute information or advertising that does not provide it. The model demonstrates that content decisions about advertising are affected by the differences between products, the range of heterogeneity in consumer tastes and the degree to which costs increase as a function of the quantity of information in advertising. Surprisingly, even when the cost to increase the quantity of information in advertising is low, uninformative campaigns can be more profitable than campaigns with attribute information. The analysis also demonstrates that firms can be more likely to provide attribute information when there are less consumers that are attribute-sensitive. Finally, the model shows that uninformative messages can create “artificial differentiation” in some situations.     

Reaching the U.S. Hispanic Wine Market: Highlighting the Opportunities

With over 50 million Hispanics living in the United States commanding 1.2 trillion dollars in purchasing power, Hispanic wine consumers may comprise a lucrative market for the saturated wine industry. Yet the wine industry has largely ignored consumers who do not fit the profile of its traditional demographic base. This study aims to fill a gap in the existing body of knowledge on Hispanic consumers of wine. Building on acculturation theory, the current study investigates predominant attitudes, opinions, and interests of the Hispanic consumer relating to wine consumption. The results of three focus groups indicate that the core cultural values of family, food, and social interaction are critical factors in developing an interest in wine among Hispanic wine consumers. Levels of acculturation also play a significant role in wine consumption among Hispanic consumers. Special attention should be addressed to younger, more acculturated consumers, as they are not only the primary consumers of wine but also advocates for wine for their parents and other groups of consumers.