Brewbound Podcast: Changing American Drinkers

Rabobank beverage analyst Bourcard Nesin joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss his new report that details how drinker demographics are changing and how beverage companies can welcome these new consumers, who are more female, more diverse and older.

“There’s really these seismic shifts at the consumer level,” Nesin said. “The changes are particularly among the consumer groups that alcohol companies have either ignored or actively avoided in some cases in the most terrible way.

“A lot of it has to do with economic empowerment, and a lot of it has to do with shifting cultural norms,” he continued.

In 2019, women accounted for 50.1% of alcoholic beverage drinkers younger than 25, surpassing men for the first time ever. Since 2004, the number of women of color regularly consuming alcoholic beverages has increased 84%. People of color represented 31% of alcohol consumers in 2019, increasing 8% over the past decade and a half.

Nesin shares insights gleaned during interviews with executives at beverage alcohol companies and discusses the evolution of beer marketing.

The Brewbound team and Nesin also discuss the Capitol Hill riot and its implications for the beer industry, including how the largest beer manufacturers and trade organizations are approaching future political contributions.

Other topics covered include Jim Beam’s new campaign to recruit beer drinkers, the Brewers Association’s decision to move Craft Brewers Conference to Denver in September, FIFCO USA shuttering of Portland Brewing Company after 34 years and Molson Coors’ partnership with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to launch a new energy drink.

Listen to the episode above, or find it on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify.
New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday.
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Rabobank beverage analyst Bourcard Nesin joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss his new report that details how drinker demographics are changing and how beverage companies can welcome these new consumers, who are more female, more diverse and older.