Some alarming stats from Eventbrite's research.
That music is now just part of the festival experience, and food and drinks are becoming a major drawcard, is obvious in the wider gourmet choices and range of sponsorships at Australian festivals.
In the US, according to an Eventbrite survey, as high as 62 per cent go to a festival for the food, and 56 per cent won’t return if the food was crap. An American festival-goer will pay up to $57 more for a “unique food event”, up to $80 for millennials. In the UK, the Association of Independent Festivals reported that spending on food and drink at festivals jumped up 40 per cent between 2009 and 2018. In the UK, up to 61 per cent decide on whether to go to a music event depending on the food, said a 2018 report from business intelligence firm CGA Strategy.
In Australia, beer was the most popular drink at music festivals in the past 12 months. Spirits and cocktails were at second place. The figures are from the Australian operations of global payments provider Square. Citing that 79 per cent of Aussie patrons prefer cards, Square crunched the numbers of card transactions at 100 events in the period. These included Bluesfest, Laneway, Splendour and Spilt Milk.
Square says beer made up 33 per cent of total sales in five states. Spirits and cocktails were 22 per cent, premix drinks 17 per cent, non-alcoholic beverages 12 per cent, cider 11 per cent, and wine only a surprising low 5 per cent. Beer was consumed mostly until 3pm, when it made up 51 per cent of total sales. Between 6pm and midnight, spirits and cocktails made up 45 per cent of total drinks sold.
Victoria consumed 33 per cent of beer, while its favoured cocktail was the espresso martini (nationally it was vodka and Red Bull). The other beer guzzlers were NSW (43 per cent), Queensland (60 per cent), WA (34 per cent) and Tasmania (76 per cent). However, South Australians consumed 39 per cent spirits and cocktails (mostly gin and tonics) and the ACT went hard on the premixes at 37 per cent. Average spend on beer nationally was just under $9, with the spend on spirits, cocktails and premixed drinks at around $12 each.
The average Aussie spend on food and drinks via card in a day at a festival is $60, with a further 20 per cent spending more than $100. There were big spenders, too, with one punter splashing out $3600 on one day. The average national spend on food was just over $14 for a burger, pizza or salad, with hot dogs and sandwiches at $10. Price sensitivity varied by state: the average NSW spend was $4 more for burgers and $4 more for their beer than those in Queensland, who spent the least.
