Food & Beverage: How do we get women to drink beer?

Women don’t like beer. Or to be fair, women are not as serious about beer as men. Wine, mixers or champagne tend to be the preferred choices when women hit the town for a lively night out. And that bothers the beer companies… a lot.

Taking into consideration that women make up half of the world’s population, that means a big missed opportunity for beer companies. So one of them came to us for a female perspective on beer drinking. There are many things that factor in when a woman choses what to drink when going out. These are to some extent subconscious influences: who she is with, where she is, how she wants to feel in the moment, and obviously taste. There are plenty of options out there for women who enjoy beer, but few for the ones that don’t.

We worked with a mixologist to develop a lighter depth of beer taste, combined with different flavors. Not too sweet, nor too heavy. Natural and refreshing was preferred, anything that looks ‘toxic’ would be discounted quickly, and btw women tend to be conscious about calories and bloating.
 Women go through a whole ritual of preparation and transformation into their “best self” before a night out, and the beverage experience should embody their aspirations. However the emotional attributes are different for the liquid versus the bottle. Liquid is functional: “makes me feel lively”. The bottle is aspirational: “reflect me and my style”.

Maintaining liveliness and level of style is important throughout the entire night.
 One woman we interviewed said “I don’t mind if it looks feminine, but not pink or with flowers.” Her friend agreed, and added “I love the sophistication of wine and that feeling when I hold the glass. The bottle should be new and fresh looking…and not old-fashioned.”

There are also some very functional aspects of designing a bottle for an alcoholic beverage. Women, just as men, get drunk. And this may prove more difficult when balancing on 5” heels and trying to maintain some level of elegance. Martini glasses are tricky in that regard. Bottles are much more stable, but not very elegant.
 And finally, the design should be gender neutral, attracting both men and women through an iconic design and brand personality. Women don’t necessarily want to stand apart. Designing a beer for women is simply about designing a beer that women want to drink.