The campaign was launched in October 2024 by SIBA with the aim to make it easier for beer drinkers to identify brews from independent breweries.
This latest YouGov research of more than 2,000 consumers, found 18 to 24-year-olds were much more likely (31%) to be aware of the campaign compared to just over 1 in 10 (11%) of beer drinkers nationally.
“What this research clearly shows is the Indie Beer campaign is resonating with younger consumers, many of whom are drinking less but drinking better – choosing quality beers from local, independent breweries,” said Neil Walker from the Indie Beer campaign and head of communications at SIBA.
Informed choice
“The campaign is all about ensuring every person who is trying to support independent beer is actually doing so and making it easier for people to make an informed choice.”
A key part of the campaign has been to use social media and pub PoS to promote a ‘brewery checker’ tool that allows people to look up any brewery and find out if they are genuinely independent or owned by a global beer company.
This new YouGov research has been released to mark the start of Indie Beer Week - taking place between 11-20 April - and being officially launched at the MaltingsFest Beer Festival in Newton Abbot, Devon, ahead of events taking place all across the UK.
Independent breweries
The Indie Beer website has seen more than 52,000 brewery checker searches since launch and now has over 28,000 active users. There are now over 500 independent breweries across the UK actively signed up in support of the campaign.
All breweries listed as independent on www.indiebeer.uk need to have less than 1% market share, be UK-owned and independent of larger brewing operations.
YouGov data published during the launch of the campaign at the end of 2024 found 75% of people surveyed believed consumers were being misled when purchasing beer from once-independent craft breweries, such as Beavertown, Camden and Fuller’s that are now owned by global beer giants Heineken, Budweiser and Asahi respectively.
SIBA is a not-for-profit trade association that campaigns for the fair treatment and promotion of independent brewers and supplier businesses in the UK.
The campaign is supported by consumer and industry organisations representing the beer and pub sector, including the Campaign for Real Ale, British Institute of Innkeeping and the Independent Family Brewers of Britain.
