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What the changing face
of golf means for your beverage program
As you look ahead to a summer season that will certainly be as busy on the 19th hole as it will be on the 18th hole, it is worth exploring the biggest innovations driving the beer category today. Because understanding, and responding to, these trends can help you better meet the changing needs of your customers, improve your beverage programs and drive increased profitability.
THE NEW GOLFER
You don’t need a beer guy to tell you that the demographics of the game of golf are changing. According to the National Golf Foundation’s US data, 18-34 year- olds represent golf’s biggest customer age segment. 3.3 million people in the US played on a golf course for the first time in 2022. Since 2019, the number of female golfers has increased by 14 percent (today, one quarter of on-course players in that country are women) and there are more juniors playing golf in the US today than at any time in the last 17 years. We know these shifts in demographics don’t stop at the Canada-US border.
But what a beer guy can tell you is how this new cohort drinks differently, how that’s driving innovation for us at Moosehead Breweries and what it means for you.
BETTER FOR YOU
Wellness is a daily, active pursuit for millennials. In fact, 69 percent of millennials say they think about their health every day - significantly higher than just 55 percent of Boomers. A recent Sanford Health study found that 53 percent of millennials consider health to be important in their lives, outranking friends at 39 percent, spirituality at 31 percent and career at 27 percent (only family, at 79 percent, scored higher).
There’s no question that this interest in wellness is changing millennial purchase habits and their drinking habits. Statistics Canada confirmed in 2021 that 1/3 of Canadians between the ages of 15 to 29 are drinking less today than they did pre-pandemic.
But the key word there is less. This new sober curious movement isn’t about abstinence. Because it’s also important to understand that this millennial commitment to wellness doesn’t come with strict rules or harsh restrictions. In fact, a fascinating report from YPulse confirms that most millennials think that a wellness culture focused on perfection is toxic and harmful. Only 31 percent of young people say they stick to a strict routine to optimize their health and happiness. Instead, the drive is
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