ow women drinkers could save the male-centric beer industry

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(Image credit: Courtesy of Talea)

In Brooklyn, Talea founders LeAnn Darland and Tara Hankinson are putting women drinkers are the
forefront (Credit: Courtesy of Talea)

By Lillian Stone

29th November 2023

Alienating marketing and sexist attitudes have long made women a second thought in the beer industry.
Now, companies are waking up to the reality that inclusivity is lucrative.

Boldly displayed in the craft-beer section of a supermarket in New York City are four-packs of brightly
coloured cans with geometric patterns, inviting consumers to experience the fruit-forward beers within
them. If their aesthetic comes off as "feminine", especially amid the masculine marketing of the cans
beside them, that's the point.

The company behind the drinks in this pastel-and-jewel-toned packaging is Talea Beer Co, a woman-
owned Brooklyn-based brewery, founded in 2019 by LeAnn Darland and Tara Hankinson, both 37.

"Our hypothesis when founding Talea was that women like us were not being considered as customers
by the existing craft beer breweries," write Darland and Hankinson, pictured at top, in an email to the
BBC. "We aim to make craft beer more inclusive, whether you are a woman, a member of the LGBTQIA+
community, a minority or just new to craft beer."

Women have always consumed beer, but they've often been an afterthought in the alcohol landscape –
if not entirely alienated by sexist marketing tropes. For years, major beer brands and craft breweries
alike have targeted men as their primary demographic. But where UK-based brewers have made more
moves to pivot from sexist marketing, US brands are playing catch up.

One of the most breakthrough adverts was a 2019 television spot featuring a young woman kicking off
her shoes, grabbing an ice-cold Coors Light, flopping onto the couch and deftly unhooking her bra with
one hand to unwind for the day. Now, major brands like Miller Lite and Corona are taking similar
approaches to centre women in their advertising – and in the case of brands like Talea, brewing with a
range of drinkers at the forefront from day dot.

As women begin to outnumber men as alcohol consumers, the beer world is counting on them to imbibe
– and beginning to accommodate them as a major market, once pushed aside in a male-dominated
industry.

Talea's packaging was designed with inclusivity in mind (Credit: Courtesy of Talea)

Talea's packaging was designed with inclusivity in mind (Credit: Courtesy of Talea)

An 'economic imperative'

Kate Bernot, a beverage-alcohol reporter who has written extensively on demographic shifts for Good
Beer Hunting's Sightlines, calls inclusive marketing an "economic imperative". She says, "The cool
cultural norms today are not heteronormative, gendered cultural norms anymore. I think women – and
many men – are thrilled to see a smarter, fresher take. It requires companies to work a little harder."

Bernot notes a big reason for this shift is a growing number of women leaders calling the shots in the
historically male beer-company boardrooms. Maggie Timoney, chief executive officer at Heineken USA,
climbed the ranks within the company to take the top spot in 2021; at Molson Coors, Michelle St Jacques
has led as chief commercial officer since March. Bernot also cites women's increased purchasing power,
with US women projected to own three-quarters of the nation's discretionary spending by 2028.

All these factors are propelling the beer industry well past the sexist culture of the 90s and early 2000s.
"Craft brewers – especially in the early phases of the craft beer movement in America – had this very
rebellious attitude," says Bernot. This mindset led to what Bernot calls a "very aggressive kind of
marketing" – for example, Stone Brewing's Arrogant Bastard Ale, a so-called celebration of "liquid
arrogance" with a tagline that proclaims: 'You're not worthy.'

While Stone Brewing's tongue-in-cheek marketing isn't inherently sexist – indeed, it might appeal to
some women who wish to challenge the stereotypical male consumer lens – Bernot argues that brutish
marketing might dissuade potential consumers who already feel excluded from the industry.
"That attitude is very off-putting for women – it's kind of off-putting for everyone," she says. "You're
literally being told, 'This isn't for you'.''

WATCH: Women were the original beer brewers - what changed?

'Women don't want to be pandered to'

Not only have existing companies gotten wise to shifting their messaging, but new entrants are also
finding a commercial opportunity in going after women drinkers and other historically forgotten
consumers as their primary markets.

One way to do this is not only to tweak packaging and beer names to avoid alienation, but also brewing
with a wider variety of palettes in mind. Talea offers a range of complex brews, several of which feature
lighter backbones or fruit notes sometimes absent from many brewers' dark or heavy, high ABV
selections.

"We looked at rating data from [ratings website] BeerAdvocate and found that the majority of the top 10
beers for users who identified as female were sour beers versus high-ABV IPAs and stouts that rated
highest for men," says Hankinson. "That inspired our portfolio of fruit-forward beers that are low in
bitterness … Our vision is that women are introduced to craft beer through flavour profiles they know
and love – and then they trust us and hopefully try beers beyond our sours."

Averie Swanson of Keeping Together in New Mexico says she focuses on brews with a "softer touch"
(Alamy: Courtesy of Keeping Together)

Averie Swanson of Keeping Together in New Mexico says she focuses on brews with a "softer touch"
(Alamy: Courtesy of Keeping Together)

It's working: today, Darland and Hankinson estimate that about 70% of their taproom customers are
women.

The founders are quick to caveat, however, that their beers are not the "diet" drinks that make up much
of the women-focused alcohol market. "Women don't want to be pandered to," say the founders. "Many
potential investors asked us about calorie counts or whether we would be the [low-calorie alcohol
company] 'Skinnygirl' of beer. Female consumers aren't as simple as wanting diet drinks… our guests are
investing in an experience."

Averie Swanson, who founded Keeping Together, a US-based small-batch brewing project in Santa Fe,
New Mexico, agrees. As one of just a few US-based women certified as a Master Cicerone, a top beer-
industry certification standard, Swanson focuses on brews with a "softer touch", with names like
Creatures of Infinite Contradiction and Dreaming of a Common Language.

Undulant & Impermanent, one of Swanson's brews, features notes of spiced granola, caramel red apple,
Chinese five spice and marigold flowers. While not necessarily marketed towards women drinkers, she
says the beer encourages curiosity and conversation – a departure from the tastes and positioning
common in the beer industry.

"I want to encourage people to hold space for one another – to engage with one another," says
Swanson. That approach extends to Keeping Together's physical brewery and taproom space, which she
hopes to open in 2024. Swanson hired an architect who specialises in creating inclusive spaces to consult
on everything from the gender-neutral bathroom stalls, to the wheelchair-accessible seating. The space
will also feature rows of mirrors to allow customers to "see themselves" as people who belong in the
space.

Beer is becoming increasingly inclusive, a move that's not only good practice, but also good business
(Credit: Alamy)

Beer is becoming increasingly inclusive, a move that's not only good practice, but also good business
(Credit: Alamy)

'Women have the money and p