Exploring Premium Beer brand consumption behaviour in South Africa

South African Breweries (SAB), the largest beer manufacturer in South Africa has been losing market share as a result of competition from international brands such as Heineken, Amstel, Windhoek and many more beer brands entering the local market. Against this background, the exploratory study on which this paper is written, explores premium brand consumption behavior, more specifically on the consumers’ perception of the main attributes of premium beer brands and, the factors that attract consumers to specific beer brands.Data was gathered from a convenience sample of 300 beer consumers and analysed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to create consumer perception indices which were used to determine the main attributes of premium beer brands, the factors that attracted consumers to premium beer brands. It was ascertained that attributes other than the alcohol content of the beer attract consumers to purchase and consume premium beer brands, namely, the crispiness and the superior quality of the beer. The life style of consumers also has a major bearing on beer brand choices. The following recommendations are drawn from the findings: every effort must be made in the whole value creation chain of the SAB to differentiate its activities from those of its competitors, as such differentiation becomes central to sustainable competitive advantage of the organisation.