Gender crossover: beer for women

While some will argue that drastic repositioning actions may jeopardize brand strength over time, it remains a notable move to drive a brand’s relevance beyond its original market. For example, Heineken recently introduced a new brand of cider – a traditional male drink – to a female audience. Jillz is sparkling, fresh, fruity, and contains less alcohol than regular ciders.

Exotic flavors

In Europe and North America, the most popular beverage flavor launched in 2012 were mango, pomegranate, and pineapple. While women tend to favor sweeter tastes, they also tend to monitor their calorie intake.

Premium is key

On average, women interact with high-end products more often than men. Think perfumes, jewelry, and cosmetics. Women will be quicker to rate a product’s exclusiveness by its visual codes.

Smaller bottle – or bigger

Smaller servings are a favorite among women – they mean fewer calories and fewer trips to the bathroom. Wine, champagne and cocktails help exemplify this preference. Contrastingly, 13 percent of women say beer would not be a first choice because it cannot be readily shared with one’s friends.

New category?

Back in the 1950s, European and North American demand for a fruit called “Chinese gooseberry” was virtually nil. A smart importer blamed the negative Cold War associations the name conveyed. Thus the fruit was renamed “kiwi”. It was a sound success: global demand soared ever since.

According to a 2012 research, 79% of UK women rarely or never drink beer. Even if it is fruity and visually appealing, it’s still a beer . Could the category name have something to do with this indifference? Women may elect not to purchasing beer because of the intrinsic and latent associations that “beer is a man’s drink.” Stripping off all beer connotations for instance helped the brand Eve to position itself as a woman’s new drink of choice.