How Pabst Brewing Combines Heritage and Innovation to Drive Growth

Molly Kaylor

Marketing Director at SightX

3 min read

25 Mar, 2025

Cold brew glass bottle set against a green background, accompanied by three attributes and bar graph results showing consumer preference toward each attribute

At SightX, we are privileged to partner with some of the most iconic and innovative brands in the world, and Pabst Brewing Company is no exception. As one of America’s oldest breweries, Pabst has masterfully blended heritage with innovation to meet evolving consumer preferences and drive sustained growth. Their Consumer Insights team, tasked with unlocking deeper consumer understanding to fuel product innovation and marketing, epitomizes this forward-thinking approach.

When Pabst came to us seeking a solution for their research hurdles, we saw a natural alignment between their ambitions and our platform’s capabilities. Together, we’ve built a partnership that’s transforming how they gather insights, make decisions, and innovate for the future.

A Solution for Modern Challenges

Before adopting SightX, Pabst faced several challenges that hindered their ability to make truly data-driven decisions. Traditional research tools fell short in key areas:

Flexibility: Their previous platforms lacked advanced survey methodologies like conjoint, robust concept testing, and TURF analysis, critical for understanding consumer preferences and testing new concepts comprehensively.
Affordability: High costs made scaling their research efforts difficult, limiting their ability to run multiple projects or explore new ideas.
Data Quality: Overinflated purchase intent and likability scores left Pabst unsure of which concepts would resonate most effectively with their audience, creating inefficiencies in their decision-making process.

Pabst needed a platform that could deliver reliable insights, advanced capabilities, and cost-effectiveness. That’s where SightX came in.

Why SightX?

Our platform offered Pabst the flexibility, reliability, and affordability they were looking for. With advanced tools like TURF analysis and conjoint in addition to robust survey capabilities —provided at no additional cost—we equipped them with the methodologies needed to tackle their most pressing research challenges. SightX’s modular components and seamless integration of sub-samples and cross-tabs allowed Pabst to dive deeper into consumer preferences, uncovering granular insights to guide their strategies.

Equally important, we addressed their data quality concerns. SightX delivered accurate and actionable insights, enabling Pabst to confidently prioritize winning concepts. The exceptional support from our team during the trial period earned the trust of Pabst’s leadership, cementing SightX as a long-term partner in their growth journey.

A New Era of Research at Pabst

With SightX, Pabst has redefined its approach to research. Our platform has been instrumental in helping them:

Evaluate Concepts with Confidence: Pabst tested over 40 concepts using SightX, with Top 2 Box purchase intent scores (probably or definitely will buy) ranging from 53% to 86%. These reliable metrics allowed them to identify the ideas that truly resonated with their audience.
Optimize Product Innovation: By leveraging tools like TURF analysis and conjoint, Pabst aligned new product offerings with consumer preferences, ensuring market readiness and competitive advantage.
Test Pricing Strategies: For new ventures like ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, SightX enabled Gabor-Granger pricing studies to identify optimal price points.
Track Brand Health Affordably: In 2025, Pabst will transition its brand health tracking to SightX, reducing costs to less than 20% of what they would have spent with traditional vendors. These savings are reinvested into additional research efforts, allowing the team to run more projects and gather deeper insights than ever before.

Driving Impact and Growth

The impact of SightX on Pabst’s business strategy has been profound. By integrating our platform into their research process, they’ve:

Enhanced Decision-Making: Reliable, actionable data has empowered Pabst to prioritize winning concepts with greater confidence, improving the success rate of product launches and marketing campaigns.
Increased Agility: Rapid, iterative testing capabilities allow Pabst to stay ahead of market trends and respond quickly to shifting consumer demands.
Maximized Resources: Significant cost savings have enabled Pabst to expand their research efforts, running more projects than they previously could while maintaining high-quality insights.

As Bill Duncan, a key member of Pabst’s Consumer Insights team, noted: “SightX is truly a researcher’s platform. If you know how to design surveys and apply best practices in research, this tool allows you to do everything you need to do. There's no survey I couldn’t craft with SightX—its flexibility is virtually limitless, from piping and routing to conditional logic. It’s intuitive and has it all.”

Looking Ahead: A Partnership for Growth

At SightX, we are thrilled to celebrate the success Pabst has achieved through our partnership. Their ability to combine the legacy of their heritage brands with cutting-edge innovation is nothing short of inspiring. Together, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in consumer insights, ensuring that Pabst remains a leader in a competitive and ever-changing market.