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COPYRIGHT 2005 Bev-AL Communications, Inc.
Light beer continues to be the strongest performer in the beer industry. The category grew 4.4% last year. The carb craze that helped spur the growth in the past few years is beginning to wane though it seems to have had little negative effect on the light beer category. Market share for the light category is quickly approaching 50%, and lights account for 1.4 billion 2.25-gallon cases of beer consumed in the U.S. This compares with a share of 35.1% in 1994 when the light beer category was approximately 931 million cases.
With Bud Light and Miller Lite spending $154.9 million and $130.5 million, respectively last year, the fight continued between these two category heavyweights. Both brands utilized their ad dollars by taking jabs against each other's brands in their respective advertisements. Miller has been using a series of advertisements including football referees flagging Bud Light drinkers for their poor choice in beer, and then tacking on some additional penalties. Although Miller Lite has a smaller market share than Bud Light, Miller is taking a more direct approach to the competition by taking them head on. The Miller ad campaign has been positioned as a cooler alternative to Bud Light. Bud Light in return used the same theme to fire back suggesting the Miller referees were stealing the Bud Light for themselves. This is one example of how these two top brands are fighting each other publicly for a larger slice of the growing light beer market.
Bud Light is still clearly the king of the light beer market with perpetual increases culminating in the brand ending last year at 536.0 million cases for a gain of 3.7%. The last couple of years have seen case increases fade slightly due to the popularity and success of the Michelob Ultra brand. That brand, aimed at the carb craze and the diet conscious consumer, has had phenomenal growth since introduction in 2002. Last year Michelob Ultra grew 39.8% to 58.0 million cases. Among other growing brands in the Anheuser-Busch light beer portfolio: Natural Light climbed 0.7%, and Busch Light gained 1.2%. The one brand that posted a decline was Michelob Light. The brand fell 18.8%, due in large part to cannibalization from Michelob Ultra.
Miller Lite, the brand that initiated the category, although smaller than Bud Light, has reversed years of declines with two consecutive years of positive gains. Last year, the brand climbed 11.1% to 241.0 million cases. Two of Miller's three remaining brands in the light beer category also grew. Milwaukee's Best Light (+2.3%) and Miller High Life Light (+21.0%) gained ground, while Miller Genuine Draft Light (-10.4%) lost cases again in 2004.
Molson Coors now has three entries in the light beer segment with mixed results among the three. Coors Light, the company's flagship brand, fell another 2.0% last year. It was the second consecutive year of declines, following the brand's peak of 232.5 million cases in 2002. Keystone Light has continued to grow since its introduction in 1989. The brand increased another 1.5% in 2004 to 40.4 million cases. The third brand is Aspen Edge, an ultra light brand that sold 4.5 million cases in its first year on the market.
The top three light brands spent more last year to market offerings to consumers (+6.9% to $403.8 million). A drop in spending by Molson Coors (-7.1%) was offset by increases from both Anheuser-Busch (+18.2%) and Miller (+9.4%). Molson Coors decline in cases sales was mirrored by...
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