CGA by NielsenIQ’s latest OPUS data highlights the key differences between New South Wales and Queensland, when it comes to enjoying a beer in the on-premise.
The research looked at frequency of visits to on-premise venues as well as when they drank beer and which were the preferred styles of beer in each state.
In NSW, 52 per cent of consumers eat out weekly, while 34 per cent of consumers go out for a drink on a weekly basis. In both instances this is more than there counterparts north of the border, with 42 per cent of Queensland consumers eating out weekly and 29 per cent going out for a weekly drink.
Despite NSW beer drinkers going out more often, Queensland just scrapes ahead when it comes to the percentage of on-premise consumers who drink beer per capita at 50 per cent – while NSW reports 49 per cent of consumers enjoying a beer.
The subcategories of beer actually show more similarities between the states than differences, with 39 per cent of beer drinkers in both states enjoying craft beer and around three-quarters enjoying domestic beer (74 per cent NSW and 73 per cent Queensland).
NSW on-premise craft beer drinkers enjoy a slightly larger repertoire of beer styles, averaging 3.2 beer styles on average, compared to the 2.8 styles in Queensland.
Within these craft beer styles, there are also some intriguing differences – with Queenslanders preferring Pale Lager (30 per cent of craft beer drinkers vs NSW’s 23 per cent), while NSW stout drinkers (20 per cent of craft beer drinkers) are much more prevalent than their QLD counterparts (11 per cent).
James Phillips, Director of Client Solutions: Asia Pacific, said: “With Australian beer, as with sport, consumers are massively parochial and we see vast regional splits in terms of beer choice. This is largely based on the brewers’ heritage in regions and consumers’ passion for the local brands.
“However, there are subtle yet significant differences when it comes to subcategories too – and different dynamics across Australia’s states and territories in terms of consumer visitation and spend. It is definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach for suppliers.”
These new consumer findings come from CGA’s OPUS; a large-scale consumer study used around the world by the leading beverage suppliers to the on-premise channel. OPUS is a rich resource of consumer insights, specifically focused on on-premise behaviours, habits, and preferences of a large, nationally representative sample of Australian on-premise visitors.