The propaganda put out is that wine makes you healthy, while beer makes you fat. But the first claim is relative, and the second is simply untrue. Still, by the late 1990s the industry had recognized it was in trouble, and it commissioned the Arthur Andersen accounting and consulting company to conduct an extensive analysis of the market. The social changes that have reduced consumption are here to stay, the analysts concluded, so only the very big and the very special will still be around in a decade. People's lifestyles are changing, and there are big generational differences.
Beer is seen as old, dead, uncool, while other drinks are more chic.
After work, beer remains Germans' favorite refreshment, but it is steadily losing ground. And, increasingly, the beer being drunk is of a specialty or microbrew variety, as young consumers show themselves to be more experimental than their elders in trying new concoctions that mix beer with fruit juices or flavorings. That compares with about 238 cans per person in the United States. The consultants advocate consolidation to reduce the huge promotional spending needed to make a brand successful. But mergers are not a magic solution, they conclude, because the industry is too big for the market.