In an effort to boost lagging beer sales in the UK, brewers are looking to attract the largely untapped market of women. According to market researcher Taylor Nelson Sofres PLC, only 13% of UK women regularly buy beer, compared with 25% in the US. A Wall Street Journal article cites the ban on smoking in pubs and a weakened economy to blame for the decline in beer sales and visits to the pub.
Coors, the UK arm of Molson Coors Brewing Company, even came up with a unit called Eve to focus on marketing techniques aimed at women. Eve’s mission is to create “a world where women love beer as much as they love shoes.” In regard to the beer industry neglecting the female population, Coors chief executive, Mark Hunter, says “We’ve done something fundamentally wrong here.”
Eve found that women in the UK like to drink vodka and wine and that women view beer as “fattening.” Other research has found that women don’t like the smell and aftertaste of beer. To combat these perceptions, Coors has begun to offer Blue Moon, a beer often served with orange slices, for the first time in London pubs. And the drinks company Diageo PLC has launched Guinness Red, a beer that is sweeter and without the strong aroma the traditional Guinness has.
But can British women boost beer sales in the UK? There are skeptics. Of course, women get drunk faster than men and with less alcohol. An alcohol consultant at research company Nielsen Company notes, “They don’t consume the volume — and that is crucial — that men do.”
Read More: UK Brewers Try to Tap Women’s Market (Wall Street Journal)
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