The beer industry has been plagued by millennials’ relative lack of interest. Beer penetration fell 1% from 2016 to 2017 in the US market, while both wine and spirits were unmoved, according to Nielsen ratings.
Beer already lost 10% of market share to wine and hard liquor from 2006 to 2016.
As a result, while major brewers like AB InBev are acquiring craft beer brands, they want the focus of their attacks — at least publicly — to be on wine and spirits companies.
Indeed, Felipe Szpigel, president of AB InBev’s craft line The High End, says one of the biggest opportunities for the company’s craft beer brands is to replace spirits and wine. For example, Budweiser’s parent company AB InBev wants to convince people to dine on beer and cheese — not wine and cheese. Read more here, from Business Insider.