Preference segments among declared craft beer drinkers: Perceptual, attitudinal and behavioral responses underlying craft-style vs. traditional-style flavor preferences

Craft beer is a product category that continues to expand, and craft beer drinkers are generally differentiated from traditional (or mainstream) beer drinkers in terms of their preference for innovative beers with novel and complex flavor profiles, and greater involvement in beer and product-focused behaviors and activities. The present research explores the existence of flavor-driven segments within the overall craft beer segment, where some declared craft beer drinkers exhibit the characteristic craft beer preference (stronger and more complex flavors), while others exhibit a preference for less complex and more traditional flavors. Research conducted with craft-style and traditional-style beers (n = 6) confirmed such preference segments in a group of male New Zealanders (n = 120). The preference segments perceived the sensory and holistic/conceptual characteristics of the beers similarly. However, they differed in specific attitudes and behaviors toward craft beers that were associated with the extent of their use and exposure to craft beers. The presence of the two preference segments was interpreted as being the result of a normal transition of declared craft beer drinker preferences away from the lighter flavors of the traditional style beers to which they had been accustomed and toward the more novel and robust flavors of craft beers. This shift in flavor preferences is tentatively attributed to the same exposure effects (mere and evaluative) that are responsible for flavor preference development in other foods and beverages. The implications for craft and traditional brewers are discussed and suggestions for future research presented.