Drink to get drunk or stay healthy? Exploring consumers’ perceptions, motives and preferences for light beer

• The study explores consumers’ perceptions, motives and preferences for light beer.
• The study employs the Best–Worst Scaling method.
• Light beer is perceived as healthier than regular beer.
• The most important motives behind purchase are taste, health and weight management.
• Low calorie content is a more important driver of preferences for light beer.

Although low calorie content is perceived as an important choice driver for light food and drink products, in the case of low-alcohol beverages the low alcohol content is equally important. Thus, low-alcohol beverages can be considered either as healthier alternatives, or as substitutes to alcoholic beverages and drinks. This paper investigates consumers’ perceptions, motives and preferences for low-alcohol beverages, using light beer as an exemplary case. The Best–Worst Scaling (BWS) is used to measure preferences, while complementary methods are used to measure perceptions and motives. The study is conducted with an online sample of Icelandic beer consumers. The findings show that light beer is perceived as healthier than regular beer, while the most important motives behind purchase are taste, health and weight management. Light beer is further perceived as less tasty, but at the same time healthier, than regular beer, while the most important motives relate to taste, health and weight management. Motives related to the low calorie content are more important than motives related to the low alcohol content. Preferences for light beer are driven mostly by taste, prior experience and brand. Finally, compared to low alcohol content, low calorie content is a more important driver of preferences for light beer.