Nulevka is not for sale – Kommersant FM
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Russia may ban the sale of beer to teenagers. We are talking about drinks that are made from beer and contain less than 0.5% alcohol. The State Duma Committee on Health Protection has prepared a bill prohibiting the circulation of such products among minors in stores and public catering.
The authors of the initiative argue that non-alcoholic beer cannot be considered completely free of ethanol, which means that in the future adolescents may become addicted and dependent. Currently, only alcohol with a strength above 0.5% cannot be sold to persons under 18 years of age.
Manufacturers do not target this age category, so the ban is unlikely to affect sales, says contract brewer, author of the “Simply About Beer” project Alexander Savitsky: “Judging by the activity of brewing companies, it is much easier for them to target an audience that has reached the age of majority.
Trying to sell non-alcoholic beer to children so that later they grow up and buy regular beer of the same brand is a too complicated and ineffective scheme, in my opinion.
Among audiences under 18 years of age, energy drinks are more popular. In general, non-alcoholic beer in our market is not a very large segment, but it is considered promising. Sales increased strongly during the pandemic, this was the so-called low base effect. Since people stayed indoors and non-alcoholic beer can be ordered online, sales increased. There is also a global trend towards healthier consumption. At the same time, I cannot say that this is a very popular product; they buy it, rather, out of necessity.
Non-alcoholic beer in Russia can contain up to 0.5% alcohol. This is less than kvass or fermented milk products can contain. There is a technology that involves removing finished ethanol from the drink, but now one of the most modern is considered to be a method using special strains of yeast that do not produce ethanol at all.”
Support of Russia told Kommersant FM that non-alcoholic beer accounts for less than 1% of the portfolio of Russian producers. The same proportion among consumers of this drink are minors. The authors of the bill point out that non-alcoholic products allow alcohol producers to promote their brand without breaking the law. The Duma Committee on Health Protection told Kommersant FM that such advertising has increased over the past two years.
A ban on the sale of non-alcoholic beer to teenagers may indeed somewhat limit the marketing capabilities of companies, notes Farhad Kuchkarov, director of strategy at the branding agency Depot: “For brewers, the non-alcoholic category is very important because it is growing. In addition to helping to circumvent advertising laws, it turned out that it also sells well. Non-alcoholic beer is consumed by people who have already drunk regular beer. Teenagers have different insights, and they just want to get a little drunk.
I don’t think there is any guile in the producers’ statements that they are not trying to grow an audience. At the level of some kind of collective lobby, perhaps, but each individual brand does not think about it.
We recently conducted a study for an alcoholic client. If we divide the life cycle of an alcohol consumer from adolescence to adulthood, it is noticeable that in different phases he prefers different brands. From 15 to 18 years of age, a person is guaranteed to change his preferences in alcohol itself, in brands, and in price segment. Of course, global or national brands that invest a lot of money in promotion are more likely to get into this pool.
But we are talking about banning sales, not advertising. We have an age limit for both events and content. For example, I think a beer brand will be allowed to attend a concert with a qualification of 16+, but selling the products will be prohibited. In general, it’s very difficult to find sponsors; this is the worst thing event organizers do. Therefore, I am absolutely confident that manufacturers will not be afraid of these things, but will continue to try to comply with the law. If TV advertising is allowed, then other channels are not limited; in any case, they are less popular and have less coverage.”
According to NielsenIQ, in recent years, non-alcoholic beer has led the growth rate in the beer market – from April 2021 to April 2022, sales increased by 13%. But in the subsequent similar period, the dynamics slowed down to 3%, and unit sales in 2022-2023 fell completely. Analysts explained this by a reduction in the range of foreign brands and a decrease in the activity of some transnational companies.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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