remains popular, even with younger drinkers. But what agave products consumers buy has shifted.
“ Years ago, tequila meant Patron,” says Singh.“ But now consumers are looking for 100 %-agave, organic tequilas that are usually carried by a micro wholesaler, such as Casa Azul, Lalo, or Tequila Ocho. This shows us that Gen Zs are not just drinking to get drunk. They are educated on these brands, which further motivates us to find these brands and provide them with an extensive variety to choose from at our establishments.”
“ And as we grow our collection, social media is the quickest medium to inform the consumers on the availability of the products,” he adds.“ We make sure we are constantly posting updates on social media and connect with our customers through advertisement and sales.”
Singh also believes the popularity of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic has negatively affected the industry. That said, he takes a broader view when it comes to trends.
“ I’ ve been in this business for more than 20 years and I believe trends are never permanent, trends are meant to change or else nothing would be trending,” he says.“ I have seen trends change about every four to five years from craft beer to seltzer, from cigarettes to vapes. Bourbon connoisseurs are now exploring agave tequila. So in another five years, tequila will probably be replaced by another category.”
In the meantime, an important method to promote sales in 2025 is the in-store tasting. This includes the rise of evening events and brand dinners hosted by beverage alcohol retailers.
“ People taste, people buy,” says Jay.“ You’ re de-risking that purchase. That’ s really big for people.”
“ As an independent retailer, if it’ s legal to taste your customers on it, you are missing a huge opportunity of connecting with the customers, connecting with your suppliers, and bridging that gap,” he adds.“ That’ s what the role of the retailer is now, more than anything else, is being a place of community. Being social. Especially in this electronic age, when it’ s so easy to not to. But beverage is one of the common things that we all share together.”
Circling back, these fun, experiential events are a great way to reach Gen Z consumers.
“ With younger consumers, where we’ ve missed the boat, is that they feel like they’ re being lectured to,” Jay says.“ And that is a problem. And we’ ve set it up that way, primarily because there’ s these‘ experts’. The only expert is yourself. Do you like it? Would you pay X amount of dollars for it? That’ s the expert I want to listen to. This generation does not want to be told [ what to drink ]. So I think having more demos, informal, easier events where they’ re not being talked to. We’ ve started making things a lot cheaper, a lot more informal; you taste, you buy.”
PRODUCERS CONSIDER THE INDUSTRY
The current challenges and industry resiliency extend to the first tier, as well.
“ We continue to be in a challenging environment across the total beverage alcohol space with some signs of normalization and bright spots in key categories,” says Matt Blevins, chief marketing officer, Heaven Hill Brands.“ As the post-Covid cycle continues to play out, we still believe the industry will emerge in a healthy and dynamic place and, at Heaven Hill, we are investing in our brands and staying agile to meet their needs in innovation, size mix, and exciting marketing platforms.”
This includes taking an honest look at generational trends.
“ There is a lot of noise and unfair stereotypes placed on Gen Z and plenty of mixed signals in the data,” Blevins says.“ By and large, we see a bifurcated market with some pockets of consumers( regardless of generation) enjoying affordable luxuries and premium brands in the category. Other consumer groups( especially Gen Z) are under more pressure and may consume less for economic reasons and as a result are trading down in package size or spending less in the on-premise.”
“ By and large we see that spirits is holding up well and Gen Z is attracted to the category whether through RTD, cocktail culture( highly Instagrammable!), or just the transparency and authenticity of spirits( simple ingredients, clear standards, authentic terroir),” he adds.“ The continued trend of health and wellness and new options like GLP−1s are empowering consumers to take control of their lifestyle, and most still want to enjoy our products. It just may look different, and the products and ways in which they enjoy it will shift, but we are not into blaming the consumer. We have confidence that we can meet their expectations and be a part of their lifestyles today.”
One example of that, he points out, is in an analysis of non-alcoholic beverage consumers, which showed these people overwhelmingly still drink alcohol.“ So this is not a case of sustained abstinence, but lifestyle management,” Blevins says.
This is an opinion shared by others in the first tier.
“ Whatever the generation, and whatever the trends like weight loss drugs and marijuana use, there always seems to be demand for exceptional spirits,” says Katharine Magliocco, Chatham Imports EVP, marketing.“ When it comes to our brands, we focus on offering high-quality spirits like Michter ' s Whiskey, Los Siete Misterios Mezcal, Farmer ' s Gin and Crop Organic Vodka.”
“ At Chatham Imports and our wholly owned subsidiary Michter ' s Distillery, business has been going well,” she adds.“ Our whiskey business continues to expand, our mezcal continues to gain increased distribution and awareness, and our organic spirits have been trending quite well.”
This is in line with the long-held theory of why the alcohol industry weathers difficult economic times.“ We definitely see consumers being thoughtful about how they spend their money. Unlike yachts and sports cars, spirits are an accessible luxury,” Magliocco says. www. beveragedynamics. com Fall 2025 • Beverage Dynamics 23