Craft beer revolution: formation of a new segment in Slovakia

Research background: Globalization has significantly affected the brewing sector worldwide during the last three decades. The industry consolidation and many acquisitions led to a reduced number of breweries and consequently to the homogenization of beer. It was an important factor affecting the significant decline in beer consumption in the world. However, over the years, this negative phenomenon also brought a new wave — the development of craft breweries, and resulted in the formation of a new segment with specific preferences in the market. Purpose of the article: As a result of the craft beer revolution in the world and the wider offer on the beer market, customer preferences changed, and a new segment was subsequently formatted. In the past, lagers were the preferred choice, but due to the new wider range of beers offered in the market, they are about to lean towards other types of beer. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify a new segment of craft beer consumers based on characteristics such as age, gender, education, income, residence, marital status, work, and leisure activities. Methods: For data collection, a questionnaire was used as a tool and, therefore, we analyzed the answers of 685 respondents from Slovakia. The questionnaire is evaluated through dependency analysis using nonparametric methods (Kruskal-Wallis Test, Mann-Whitney Test) to identify the differences between groups of customers and to describe the characteristics of a typical consumer of craft beer. Findings & value added: The craft beer revolution in the world brought a formation of a new segment, which considers the taste and quality more compared to price. Our research has confirmed that this segment consists of highly educated men (26–40 years old), with above average income. However, it is important for beer producers to know this segment more to meet its requirements. Nevertheless, deeper studies of this segment were missing. Therefore, our research was focused on other parameters of the segment and according to our findings, these consumers are from bigger cities, working more mentally, and doing sports in leisure time.