The Future of the Beer Industry after the World Economic Crisis

Abstract

Beer is an alcoholic beverage obtained by fermentation. It is made from water, malt (sprouted grain, usually barley, sometimes wheat or rye) and hops. Beer may either be produced industrially or manually in a brewery, but can be manufactured by an individual. It can be grouped by the structure or the taste, which may be sweet, bitter acid, or "absurd".
However, the beer market consists of sweet and bitter beer (ales, stouts & bitters), beer with little or no alcohol, "premium" lager, specialty beers (beers produced for special occasions such as Christmas beer, Mars beer and others) and finally, standard beers.

The stakeholder analysis allows us to distinguish the actors who play a role in the area of study. Thus, we can highlight those who benefit from it, those who play a decisive role, and those who are marginally involved in its development.
Internal stakeholders are those involved directly in influencing the European beer industry. This is the core component sector. The stakeholders are the intermediaries involved, and the means used for marketing the product. Finally, external stakeholders are the actors to be considered as they may be binding (e.g. government legislation, consumer expectations etc.)

The beer market is currently in the third phase of development: The phase of maturity.
Indeed, the market for the beer industry is almost in a phase of decline, because of different points:

• The Growth rates are near zero
• The Growth potential is low
• Multiple product lines (lager, dark, alcohol-free)
• Distribution of Market Shares: concentrated in 3 main groups

The Abell scheme describes the beer market under different parameters: These include the parameter function beer, technological, and customer group among others.

This allows companies to target different types of consumer and consumption, and to offer products which are in line with their expectations. For example, a single consumer whose "function" is to discover other flavors through a traditional technology will be more tempted by a beer such as the Trappist Chimay beer.

We can identify four groups in the market for the beer industry. Each of them follows a different strategy. The leader of the group has the opportunity to market on the strength of the popularity and the massive sale of their products, using the strategy of being the leader in cost, which means that they affect the market price. The businesses of this group represent more than half the market share and, practice a price within the market average.

Craft businesses have a niche strategy. Of small sizes, they produce unique beers which allow them to claim a high price that will not disturb the consumer.

It is interesting to notice that undertakings selling "cheap beer" and specialized companies' are medium-sized companies in the beer market but adopt two different strategies. Both are in competition with the leading groups, "cheap beers" are competing for a very low price, while the specialized companies' play on the diversity and originality of their products and therefore adopt a higher price than the market average, which also competes with the small craft enterprises.