There are some differences in Brand Love by gender – with men more likely to love brands outside the overall top ranked brands.
For example, amongst men, Jack Daniel’s, The Glenlivet, and Guinness are all in the top 15, while Jameson’s Irish Whiskey is outside the top 100 overall but is the 18th Most Loved brand by men. There are 13 beer brands in the top 100 for men, only three for women (Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Stella Artois, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord).
But the biggest differences by far can be noted across the generations. The top 10 Most Loved drinks brands among Gen Z are all soft drink brands. This must be the result of recent familiarity, purchasing, and value-for-money considerations overriding the nascent interest in drinking alcohol legally. We also know that an increasing number of younger people are rejecting alcohol and remaining tee-total. We can see this pattern extend into the Millennial generation, and it’s only when we get to Gen X do alcohol brands appear in the top 10 – three champagne brands and Bailey’s.
The Most Loved drinks brands for Baby Boomers are all alcohol brands – the only soft drink brand is Fentimans. The list is mostly Champagne and Spirit brands. Baby Boomers are more likely to be able to afford these brands, and it’s more likely that they’re no longer buying for younger members of the family. Guinness also makes an appearance in the Baby Boomer top 10, and despite all the social media activity surrounding the brand among younger people (e.g., split the G), it’s the older generation who love the brand. Guinness doesn’t even make the top 200 most loved brands among Gen Z.
Top 10 across demographics
We also see brand differences within drinks categories. Gen Z’s Most Loved spirits include brands like Malibu and vodkas like Smirnoff. Their Most Loved beers are all craft beers – Beavertown Neck Oil, Innis & Gunn, and Blue Moon. For Baby Boomers, the Most Loved spirits are malt whisky brands and cognacs as well as Baileys, and their Most Loved beers are Guinness and Timothy Taylor Landlord.
Some of the widest differences between the two generations are in energy drinks. Red Bull, for example, is in the top 25 Most Loved brands for Gen Z but is in the bottom 25 for Baby Boomers, who never grew up with this category (Vodka Red Bull and Jaeger Bombs only appeared in the last 25 years). With all the communications and sponsorships for brands like Red Bull and Monster targeting the younger market, it’s hardly a shock.
“When young, our palate welcomes sweetness (so no surprise that soft drinks, and then drinks like cider and alcopops appeal to Gen Z drinkers) but it evolves and develops into an appreciation for more challenging flavours as we age.”
Of course, some of the differences in Brand Love by generation reflect their relationship with the drinks category the brand is in – at the broadest level, there’s more love for soft drinks among the younger generation, more for champagne and dark spirits for older generations. This can reflect all kinds of reasons relating to income, brand communications, life experiences, etc., but it must also reflect how people’s palates change as they get older. And on this journey, our category preferences move from lighter, easier-to-drink categories to stronger-tasting ones – from lager to ale, from white wine to red wine, from vodka to gin – and Brand Love follows.