An exploratory study of the challenges and opportunities facing the craft beer industry in central South Africa

Abstract

Craft beer has become popular across the world, and in America have grown to over 20% of the total beer sales. However, the craft beer industry of South Africa is still in its infancy with an estimated market share of around two per cent of the total beer market. Even though the craft beer industry in South Africa is growing, there are only limited academic research on craft beer breweries in South Africa. The primary objective of the study is to explore and describe the challenged and opportunities facing the craft beer breweries in central South Africa. The four secondary objectives help to achieve the primary objectives. The literature review of Chapter 2 provided the necessary background on the craft beer industry needed for the conduction of the empirical study. This study follows a qualitative research method with a descriptive research approach. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from eight participants. These eight participants are owners of craft beer breweries in North West, Free State and Gauteng provinces. Thematic analysis was used as the data analysis technique. Through the qualitative interview, a total of ten themes were identified, seven of which were challenges and three opportunities. The participants described several sub-themes and categories. The study concluded with recommendations on how craft beer breweries can overcome some of the major challenges and exploit opportunities. The key recommendation is a business model for a craft beer brewery that address several of the main challenges. The study also made some recommendations for future studies, which can build on this study.