You are what you drink: Stereotypes about consumers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer

Abstract

People infer what someone is like from what they eat or drink. Such stereotypes can also influence behavior, since consumers’ choices reflect how they wish to be perceived. Beer is one of the most widely consumed alcoholic beverages worldwide but particularly in Germany. Although one may avoid the negative effects of alcohol by consuming non-alcoholic beer (NAB), negative perceptions of NAB may prevent alcoholic beer consumers from drinking NAB. This study investigated stereotypes associated with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer consumption via an online vignette experiment. German participants (N = 509) received a description of a fictitious man or woman ordering either an alcoholic beer or NAB and were asked to evaluate the character using 14 bipolar adjective pairs. Beer type (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) had a significant influence on nine adjective pairs. Drinking NAB was associated with being health-conscious, rational, disciplined, modern, stronger, feminine, tolerant, satisfied, and relaxed. As choosing NAB may be motivated by a desire to convey a particular image or other social and individual factors, the study investigated the determinants of NAB consumption frequency. For women, being health-conscious and not having a negative view on NAB’s taste positively predicted NAB consumption frequency. For men, in addition to a negative view on NAB’s taste, subjective norms were a negative predictor of NAB consumption frequency. Thus, although consumers may have positive associations with NAB consumption, NAB’s reputation for having an inferior taste to alcoholic beer and consumers’ subjective norms of drinking alcoholic beer may prevent them from drinking NAB. Practical implications and directives for future studies are provided.