Mintel’s latest research shows that craft beers in the UK are enjoying a period of robust growth – a combination of perception of better quality and taste in this sector and the rise in drinking at home to save money.
An interesting, and perhaps inevitable, side effect of this is the emergence of an iPhone app aimed at helping customers find either microbreweries in London, or the shops and pubs selling these breweries’ products.
Craft Beer London includes reviews, maps and news and sells itself as ‘ensuring that you will never drink a bad pint again’. A high claim, but by directing users to a multitude of locations, from Greenwich’s Meantime Brewing Company to pubs north and south of the Thames, the app is focused on providing a focused approach on what is fast becoming a mainstream sector.
How Craft Beer London taps into the consumer experience economy
With more and more of us opting for unique and ‘authentic’ tastes above and beyond more mass-produced offerings, the app taps in (no pun intended) to a very real sense of seeking out genuine experiences. Mintel’s Inspire trend Sense of the Intense explores how ingredient ‘sensations’ appeal to consumers who are looking for something deeper and more meaningful.
Craft beer offers the experiential on a number of levels – not just the flavour and ingredients of the beers themselves, but the history and uniqueness of the breweries and pubs that create and sell them. An iPhone App dedicated to finding the best beers in town plays up to the experience culture even more, allowing users to trace beers, learn about them and find out what others think with an instant click.
It will be interesting to see how the craft beer market continues to grow, especially as larger breweries look to this sector as a means of boosting their own performances. And, with Craft Beer London offering a city-specific approach, it is likely that more and more services of a similar ilk will crop up.
Never drink a bad pint again? Such a promise will find an ever-growing audience of consumers willing to find out.
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