Business Library

Scope of This Guide:

Alcoholic beverage products are generally organized into three main categories: beer, wine and distilled spirits. Beer manufacturing involves growing or acquiring grain and other ingredients, brewing, packaging and distribution. 

Wine making involves harvesting and crushing grapes, fermenting the juice, aging the wine, filtering and bottling. Distilled spirits, such as vodka, rum, bourbon and specialty liqueurs, are produced by fermenting fruit, vegetables or grain, then distilling the preparation to purify it and control flavor, color and alcohol content.

The tobacco production industry is segmented into growers, dealers (who purchase and process leaf tobacco) and manufacturers. Finished products are sold to wholesalers, large retail concerns, vending machine operators and others.

Although these two industry groups are distinctive, they share much in common. Companies that compete on a national or international level exhibit a high degree of industry concentration, high profitability and high barriers to entry. Both groups are highly regulated and heavily taxed. The degree of market saturation is high and customers of both types of products show strong brand loyalty. Quantitative demand for their products tends to remain steady through times of economic prosperity and recession.

Industry Definitions: Description by NAICS Sector / Sub-Sector

Databases for Industry Research

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage

• Industry surveys
• Bond ratings
• Company profiles and corporation records
• Stock, bond and fund research

• Industry sector analysis and research
• Industry trends and statistics
• Market research and trends
• Company profiles

• Real-time full-text investment research
• Reports cover companies and industries
• Over 750 contributing firms

• Aggregate data and analysis on industries
• Reports, articles, and company highlights

ABI/Inform (via ProQuest)

• Indexes over 1000 business periodicals
• Trade journals, business magazines, academic journals and other news sources
• Most articles full text

IBISWorld

• Over 700 full-text industry reports
• Over 700 US industry risk rating reports
• Information on over 8000 Publicly Traded Companies
• Hundreds of economic and demographic profiles

For additional database choices, see:

1. Database Descriptions
2. Database Comparison Chart

Selected U.S./World Industry Data & Company Sites

Selected Companies

Alcoholic Beverages

• Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc.
• Brown-Forman
• Constellation Brands
• Diageo PLC
• Molson Coors Brewing Co.

Tobacco

• Altria Group Inc.
• Carolina Group, subsidiary of Loews Corporation
• Reynolds American Inc.
• UST Inc.
• Vector Group

Resources for Identifying Companies in the Industry

Hoover’s Online

• Proprietary company overviews
• Industry breakdowns and explanations
• Competitor listings
• Financial synopses

Lexis/Nexis Corporate Affiliations
Business Library, Reference: HG4057.A219

• U.S. corporate directory
• Holding company directory

Mergent Online

• Information on 11,000 U.S. public companies and 17,000 non-U.S. Public companies
• Detailed, standardized financial statements
• Searchable by company name, industry codes, revenue levels, and other characteristics
• Comparative analysis among companies
• Access to SEC reports

Ward’s Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
Business Library, Reference: HG4057.A56

• Listings organized by NAICS code
• Ranks public and private companies by revenues/sales

Library Collections: Selected Reference Titles & Call Number Ranges

Selected Reference Titles

For additional materials, contact the Schreyer Business Library.

Alcoholic Beverages

Controlling Liquor, Wine & Beverage Costs,Godsmark, Elizabeth.
3rd Floor, Paterno: TX950.7.B76 2003

Moonshine Markets: Issues in Unrecorded Alcohol Beverage Production and Consumption,Haworth, Alan.
2nd Floor, Paterno: HJ5021.M66 2004

The World Market for Beverage and Tobacco: A 2003 Global Trade Perspective, Parker, Philip M.
Online: NetLibrary

The World Market for Wine: A 2003 Global Trade Perspective, Parker, Philip M.
Online: NetLibrary

Who's Buying Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Beverages
Business Library, Reference: HD9348.U5W46

Tobacco

The Economic and Political Aspects of the Tobacco Industry: An Annotated Bibliography and Statistical Review, 1990-2004, Diamond, Tom.
3rd Floor, Paterno: HD9130.5.D53 2005

The World Market for Manufactured, Smoking, and Chewing Tobacco: A 2003 Global Trade Perspective, Parker, Philip M.
Online: NetLibrary

Periodicals

Alcoholic Beverages

Beer Marketer's Insights See "Key Industry Data". All other data requires subscription. U.S. beer industry News and statistics
Beverage Industry
Beverage World Trade journal for the beverage industry Free "Special Reports"
Modern Brewery Age

Tobacco

Tobacco Reporter Business Library, Reference: HD9130.W5

Trade Associations: Selected Industry Associations Web Sites

Alcoholic Beverages

• The Beer Institutes
• Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
• The Wine Institute
  

Tobacco

• Tobacco Merchants Association of the United States (TMA)
• Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids
  1. Education and prevention
  2. Research, data and special reports
• International Tobacco Growers' Association
  

• See also Associations Unlimited for association listings by subject or keyword.
• See also ABI/Inform for articles reporting trade association data.

Career Information: Selected Sources for Employment Information

Vault Online Career Library (Currently, Vault Guides are facing problems opening in Adobe Reader 8.x. Please see here for using FREE Adobe Digital Editions to access these guides)

1. Vault provides full-text career and industry guides
2. Includes company profiles, occupation descriptions, and career-related articles

Career Guide to Industries (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Business Library, Reference: HF5382.5.U5 C3162

Occupational Outlook Handbook  (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
CAT record for print copies
Business Library, Reference: HD8051.A623

Career Resources Page

3rd Floor, Paterno Library
University Park, PA 16802
Reference Desk:
814-865-6369