This week, as Victoria took some of its greatest strides out of lockdown in months, journalists at a Dan Andrews press conference turned the Premier’s now famous quote back on him, and asked if he would be “getting on the beers” to celebrate the news.
His response noted that he might go a bit further up the shelf for such a victory, and go up the shelf he did – that night he posted a picture on Twitter of his celebratory drink, Melbourne-made Starward Tawny Single Malt Whisky.
But Victoria’s Premier isn’t the only one opting for Australian-made beverages to celebrate this year. A new national consumer study conducted by research firm Glow revealed that more than two-thirds of Australians are planning to consume more locally-made drinks this festive season.
The short-term study captured rapid pace data on real-time consumer preferences in the drinks industry, and was conducted from 22 to 25 October with national results delivered just before the good news from Victoria was announced.
Tim Clover, Glow CEO, said the latest research builds from an earlier study into shopper behaviour surrounding locally made products which was carried out earlier this month.
“At Glow, we have the tools to gather consumer information quickly. We wanted to find out what people would be drinking this summer… and if the pandemic would change preference. We thought Aussies would be pouring local beverages and the quick time survey said we were correct,” Clover told National Liquor News.
“We did a real time study on buying local the week prior and felt it was time to dig deeper into the beverage category.
“It is heartening to see that a majority of respondents (66 per cent) are planning to include local beverages in their Christmas drinks mix in the coming weeks.”
In addition to the 66 per cent of people who will be opting to add Australian drinks to their summer drinks selection, a third of respondents to the study went further to say they would only consume locally-made alcohol over the festive season. Meanwhile, 35.7 per cent of respondents said they would be consuming a mix of local and international alcohol.
In relation to these numbers, and those from Glow’s last study of the buy local movements across multiple retail industries, Clover notes a significant shift in consumer behaviour.
“These results confirm what pundits have been predicting – a shift from global shopping to purchasing behaviours supporting home-grown and even hyper local producers which challenger brands and small businesses can leverage in the coming months,” Clover said.