In this episode of the Industries in Motion podcast, James Edwardes Jones and Emma Letheren, Consumer Staples research Analysts, discusses with Peter Dawkins (European Research Product Manager) how the alcoholic beverages industry is evolving and use game theory to demonstrate how the beer industry might be making a come back after years of losing out to spirits.

The spirits companies can point to a variety of reasons for their superior growth within alcoholic beverages: demographics, healthier products and premiumisation amongst them. One thing that doesn't get as much airtime as we think it deserves is that big competitors - the brewers - have had their minds elsewhere.

The leading brewers have been fixated on consolidating the global beer industry for the last two decades. Their consequent loss of focus on the consumer has been exploited by spirits brand owners who were already on a roll.

A fresh generation of management is starting to make its presence felt at the brewers and intends to stimulate growth for the beer category as a whole. The spirits companies are no longer pushing on an open door as far as competition in alcoholic beverages is concerned ... there are some heavyweights starting to push back.