Beer Market in the U.S.A: An Analysis

The relevance of demand and supply in economics cannot be overstated given that the two are considered some of economics' most fundamental concepts. In this text, I explain both the demand and supply for Anheuser-Busch's products. Further, I identify some of the substitute and/or complementary goods for Anheuser-Busch's products.

• There is a change in consumers’ preferences in terms of drinking beer in stead of drinking wine, i.e. in Latin America.

     In this paper I will be talking about the U.S. beer industry and in short an overview of the brewing industry worldwide. I will talk about the barriers to entry, economies of scale, government intervention, pricing, current market trends, product differentiation, and imports. The focus being mainly on the U.S. brewing industry oligopoly. The U.S. brewing industry has three major players: Anheuser-Busch, SAB Miller, and Coors/Molson. Anheuser-Busch is currently the largest brewer in the world, producing over 100 million barrels a year. Anheuser-Busch currently owns over 50% of the market in the United States, with Miller trailing behind at 20% and Coors at about 11% with the rest of the market occupied by imports and craft breweries. When analyzing any industry, how easy it is for newcomers to enter the market is a great importance. If there are high barriers to entry

The only competition the merged firm would face in some areas is OfficeMax. Even though many other retailers sell office supplies, none of them offer the same variety and one-stop shopping convenience as office superstores do. The situation is unlikely to change over time due to high barriers of entry into the market, which will give the merged firm an opportunity to raise its prices annually and still keep customers coming back.

Political –Governments tend to exercise significant control over beer as it contains alcohol which has caused many problems in society and has addicted people. This attention from the government will affect Heineken in sale volume in the market. Many governments have imposed heavy taxes on liquor and beer imports, and with globalisation many brewers are looking for new markets where they can gain maximal profits. This proves to be a threat for Heineken. Heineken must conduct thorough research on countries policies on alcohol such as drinking in public, alcohol contents in drinks, legal drinking ages and must strategically plan their integration into these markets based on the research.

A documentary film made in 2009, Beer wars features and describes the American beer industry distinguishing between the large and small breweries. The large breweries feature some main corporate companies like Coors Brewing Company, Anheuser-Busch, and Miller Brewing Company whereas the small breweries include craft beer producers like Moonshot 69, Stone Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Brewery, Yuengling, and others. The documentary shows how the beer market is controlled through advertising and lobbying, which is harmful for the competition in the market. There is a reason why the small companies are falling behind and the large corporates are controlling the market, which in turn makes it essentially oligopoly economy.

C) The key consumer segment is the younger drinker who aged 21 to 27. They were first time drinker that not founded loyalty to any brand yet accounted for large beer consumption. The segment tended to purchase more light beer instead of lager.

iii. Import beer companies: These companies include Beck’s(Germany), Heineken (Holland) and Corona (Mexico). They control about 12% of the region’s market. However, these companies are seen to operate at disadvantage due to higher shipping costs, weaker distribution networks and an inability to control product freshness

Within the craft beer market, consumers have many products to chose. A product is anything offered within a market that which fulfills a want or need (Armstrong & Kotler, 2015). In 2012, over 1,750 breweries operated in the United States (U.S.), with over 1,920 the following year (Brewers,

The European Commission believed that allowing the merger was in the best interest of both consumers and for the beer market itself. I wholeheartedly disagree with that decision. Consolidating firms only decreases competition. John Colley, associate dean at Warwick Business School agrees, "Generally speaking, as industries consolidate down to fewer players, prices increase because there is less competition… You tend to end up with less choice of products too” (Thomas). There are four major European beer brewers and with this merger two of the largest are now consolidated. The consolidation “significantly increased the number of national markets where the merged entity and the two

For the purposes of this case analysis of E. & J. Gallo Winery, the wine industry is composed of all alcoholic beverages that contain between eight and twenty percent alcohol by volume. This distinction is based on the assumption that beer and the typical malt liquor contain less than eight percent alcohol by volume. The twenty percent limit is a result of state and federal tax and licensing laws. The three top competitors that are identified in this case study are E. & J. Gallo, Canandaigua and Mogen David.

Merger proves to be beneficial for both the companies as Heinz 61% sales from outside North America and on the other hand Kraft Foods sales is covered by 98% from North America for the revenues in the fiscal year 2014. This gives a big boost for the Kraft Food to enter and tap the international emerging markets for its strong growth also. As

Problem identification: The global beer industry was experiencing increasing competition due to the new and potential mergers and acquisitions of

|After seeing a reduction in gross profit in 2008 Grupo Modelo recovered and increased their gross profit 10.6% in 2009. However, Grupo |

2011 proved to be a good year for beer, with a 7% total growth volume, amounting to 108 million litres. The demand for beer products continue to grow steadily with the escalating trend of social drinking in Singapore. Previously restricted to venues such as clubs and bars, beer products are increasingly being consumed at local coffee shops or hawker centres or being purchased off the shelf. (EuroMonitor International 2011, Beer in Singapore)