The first survey of American beer drinkers to measure the impact of the independence seal has delivered some encouraging results, according to the Brewers Association.

The BA delivered its initial findings at the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville this month, as the Independent Brewers Association launched its own seal in Australia.

Twenty nine per cent of beer drinkers surveyed in December 2017 were aware of the seal, according to Eric Friedman of the BA’s marketing agency, Sterling Rice Group.

The BA seal in action

He said these drinkers placed much more importance on buying from a brewery that aligned with their social values (up 26 per cent), buying from local breweries (up 23 per cent) and brewery independence (up 24 per cent) than those who were not aware of the seal.

“This is exactly what it is that we are trying to communicate and the results have been really positive,” Friedman said.

He said the BA had conducted an extensive review of existing seals that had been proven to change purchasing behaviour, such as the Fair Trade, Non-GMO and Energy Star seals.

In one example, a coffee retailer found products featuring the Fair Trade seal recorded a ten per cent sales increase versus those that did not, Friedman said.

“They’ve created essentially two versions of their own packaging, some with the seal some without, based on the different coffee providers, and they did a test in about 26 stores in the US and they saw a really significant 10 per cent increase,” he said.

“The type of people who see value in seals and would act on seals look a lot like our core craft drinkers.”

More than half of America’s craft brewers, representing more than 75 per cent of craft beer volume, have adopted the Brewers Association’s independence seal, CEO Bob Pease revealed at the conference.