Flavor remains at the forefront of bev-alc purchasing decisions, according to data from the Brewers Association’s (BA) annual Harris Poll, shared by chief economist and VP of strategy Bart Watson and staff economist Matt Gacioch last week.
Of five product attributes, at least 90% of poll respondents in each age cohort named flavor as very or somewhat important.
Responses back data from Bump Williams Consulting, which reported earlier this month that flavor-forward innovations are driving beer category growth, and those trends are expected to accelerate.
Flavor was most important for Harris Poll respondents aged 65+, 94% of whom selected it as very or somewhat important.
Alcohol content was more important to 45- to 54-year-olds, with 84% selecting it as very or somewhat important.
Ingredients (83%) and a product being locally made (61%) were more important to the 35- to 44-year-old cohort than other groups. Locality had the second-widest spread between the age groups that selected it as more important versus less, with a delta of 31%.
Appearance/packaging was more important to 21- to 34-year-olds, with 65% listing it as very or somewhat important. The gap between this group and the group that ranked it as less important was 34%.
Gacioch said: “The fact that there was a 34% gap means there’s some big variations. Other age cohorts, appearance makes much less of a difference in their decisions.”
Insiders can go deeper into the data with this Brewbound story about the annual consumer poll.