Time Magizine’s Business & Money blog has an interesting article about declining beer sales. Budweiser, Heinekin, and Miller have all seen sales decline in the past few years, with these industry leaders’ sales dipping between 5-8% in the first quarter of 2013.
There are a variety of factors being blamed for the drop. Craft beers are taking a bigger chunk of the market, taxes on alcohol have gone up, and the price of gas continues to rise.
But the real culprit in the slumping sales? CO2 emissions.
Yep. Several leaders in the industry, including the CEO of Heineken, have blamed bad weather in America, Europe and Brazil for the sales (or lack thereof). In particular, colder-than-average temps have hurt sales of light beers like Bud and Coors Light, which people often drink outside and to beat the heat.
It’s warm, I’m outside, but this is not a Bud Light. Take that beer industry!
I think there is some validity to this argument; if Al Gore taught me anything, it’s that no one is safe from the perils of global warming, not even beer. But the craft beer industry continued to grow in 2012, and doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. In my completely biased opinion, I think changing palates and the variety of readily available brews may have more to do with the declining sales than the hole in the ozone.
