Flat beer market forces innovation

"Healthy beer. It's almost a contradiction in terms."

(typical first sentence for a New Years alcohol story by NZ Herald. Come on guy why not surprise us with something original and positive, don't you drink beer?)

"The battleground has now shifted to a subset of the health and wellbeing category, the low-carb beer market. Right now, the New Zealand low-carb market is well, small beer, making up just 1 per cent of the $1.4 billion retail beer market.

But it is also the fastest growing, with year-on-year growth of around 20 per cent since Australian brewer Carlton introduced Pure Blonde to our shores in 2005."


(Hello people!! 1 per cent of the market, with 20% growth, then on the 1st January 2010 the article will be able to say that it has grown to 1.2% of the market.)

ATTENTION: Errol Kiong

A MORE INTERESTING STORY WOULD BE ABOUT THE 50 INDEPENDENT CRAFT BREWERIES THAT MAKE UP 2.5% OF THE $1.4 BILLION RETAIL BEER MARKET. DID YOU KNOW THAT THAT IS 250% LARGER THAN THE LOW CARB PART OF THE MARKET!?!?!

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(Hey Errol, you might want to have a read of this to get the other point of view)