Drink em' if you got em' - cannabis infused beer

There’s nothing like cracking open a cold one on a hot summer’s day or after a long day at work. Beer is something that we Canadians drink with pride and is ingrained into our identity. Heck – we love it so much we built a beer fridge that opens when we proudly say, “I am Canadian”. With the bubbly beverage being such a large staple in our lives, it only makes sense why the industry is booming. In just one year alone the Canadian beer industry went from 817 to 995 breweries; that’s a 21.8% increase from 2017 to 2018. To further instil beer into our Canadian identity, the industry saw a 0.3% increase in domestic beer sales while import sales declined by -3.4%. That left the entire industry seeing total beer sales as 85% domestic and 15% imported.

Recently, the team at Caddle conducted a survey asking 5,632 respondents about the beer purchasing habits. Let’s crack open these insights and see how they can contribute to the industry.

Cheap and Tasty

Turns out that consumers do care about the taste of their beer and don’t just drink it because everyone else does. When asking our consumers what is most important to them when purchasing beer, 48% of respondents said that taste and price are most important to their purchasing decision. With a 1.8% price increase in beer, maybe buck a beer isn’t such a bad idea after all as some may decide to purchase something else if the price doesn’t meet their budget.

There’s wine connoisseurs so why can’t there be beer connoisseurs? The same ol’stuff can start to taste bland and boring after a while. That’s what appears to have happened to Canadians in the 80’s as they realized there’s more than just Molson Canadian. Outside of Canada there were beers that had more taste and texture with other good qualities as well. This is arguably what started the development of craft beer market. If we’re good at drinking the stuff you darn bet we’re good at making it too!

A different kind of wobbly-pop

Since when did the younger generation start getting so responsible? When we asked our respondents what beer innovation they would be most interested in, we found that millennial males in Canada were most interested in cannabis infused beer.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – “that’s not responsible at all!” — but believe it or not, younger people are drinking less and looking for healthier options. They also want to be in control of themselves and not have embarrassing drunk stories told at their wedding in front of their new in-laws. Queue: cannabis infused beer. This innovation acts as an alternative in which cannabis is infused in a non-alcoholic beer where consumers can still get a buzz but feel more relaxed and in control of their actions.

Is that you cuz?

Cannabis and hops are actually distant cousins to each other (huh – learn something new every day eh?)! This is great news because if you’re a millennial male and you’re from Ontario, then you know that beer and cannabis go hand-in-hand with each other. Our survey results didn’t seem to shy away from this fact as millennial Ontarians were most interested in cannabis infused beer when compared to other provinces.

This is worth considering because due to the spike in the Ontario craft beer market, this leaves some left on their own with no future of success since there is simply starting to be too much competition to compete with. If you find yourself in this situation, perhaps cannabis infused beer is the answer. Millennials (especially Ontarian millennials) love the idea, so why not take a chance and see if you can start climbing the ranks to success?

IPA (Insights Provided Accurately)

We showed you the industry and our insights to go with it; so now what? It’s clear to see that the beer industry is a growing one and consumers are looking for more than their everyday kind of beer. They want something that comes at a good cost and taste. If you’re a beer advocate, than you know that beer is a big part of our Canadian identity and it’s fair to say that cannabis is as well, so why not give the people what they want and infuse the two in a socially acceptable beverage?

Caddle is a data insights company that works with a variety of organizations in the CPG industry who are looking to understand their consumers better. If you’ve got questions about your audience and how you can increase revenue, drop us a line and ask how we can help you.

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