Dive Brief:
- Americans are drinking out of more cans this summer, and they're sipping more than soda and traditional beers. Sales of canned products have grown significantly among craft beer (up 51.4%) and wine (up 125.2%) in the 52 weeks that ended June 18, according to a recent Nielsen survey conducted by Harris Poll.
- The majority of consumers want their summertime drinks to be refreshing (61% of men, 64% of women). Men also want crisp (29%), natural (22%), and handcrafted (17%) beverages while women want fruity (50%), sweet (37%), and frozen/slushy (33%) ones. About 66% of Americans said buying beverages cold is important, and 73% said they valued packaging that is easy to carry.
- About one-quarter of American adults over the age of 21 said that seeing pictures on social media of other peoples' drinks often influences what they drink themselves. That number rises to 45% for millennials who can legally drink. About 42% in this age group also enjoy posting photos of their drinks on social media, compared to an average of 25% for all drinkers.
Dive Insight:
Craft brewers have been releasing canned products in droves, with more announcements in the past few months leading up to summer. Consumers tend to associate cans with outdoor drinking, which 90% of regular drinkers said they plan to do this summer.
For consumers, cans offer safety, portability, and help make the drink colder faster. But manufacturers -- particularly brewers -- derive their own benefits from using cans. They keep out light and air during storage and distribution, which protects the beer's quality over time.
However, because cans have been so closely tied to traditional domestic beers and soda, they can be stigmatized as packaging for lower quality products, which has given craft brewers pause in the past. That prejudice is starting to lift as canned craft beer becomes more common, and other canned alcoholic beverages, like canned wine, hard soda or hard seltzer, mix into the summertime cooler.
Whether drinks are canned also comes down to price. A canning line can be a sizeable upfront investment. This can result in a higher cost per unit, and because many alcoholic drinks are sold in six-packs, a lower price per ounce.
Social media's influence over consumers' summertime drinking choices, especially millennials, can be a tool for manufacturers. Brands can encourage consumers to share photos of themselves and others drinking their products through contests or other social media promotional campaigns. By increasing social media reach, brands may be able to leverage an expanded online presence into summertime sales growth.