11 Category Trends
provide the purchaser with numerous enjoyable experiences for their initial investment .
The premiumization trend is more than sipping spirits . “ We have premium sodas and mixers and more , all because people are becoming more sophisticated with their tastes ,” says Moore .
Agreeing with him is David Jackson , SVP trade relations , COO for the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association . “ Premiumization , I think , goes back into the current cocktail culture ,” Jackson says . “ Pre-Recession , there wasn ’ t anywhere near this level of cocktail culture . Now even dive bars are doing things with premium bourbons . Having a wellmade , handcrafted cocktail is definitely where things have been going for the past few years .”
6 ) TEQUILA ON THE RISE The tequila category was up 7.9 % in 2018 in the U . S ., according to the Beverage Information and Insights Group , totaling 18.64 million 9-liter cases . As already covered in the trend above , much ( if not most ) of this growth comes from higher-end bottles , as consumers increasingly reach for the top shelf .
“ With tequila , many people have gotten over just drinking the white tequilas ,” observes Moore of SGWS . “ They ’ re increasingly drinking reposados and añejos , and now mezcal as well .”
With the improving economy , consumers have become more adventuresome in their purchases . And premium tequilas fit perfectly into the trend of more people looking for “ affordable luxury ,” says Moore .
For more information on the state of the tequila category , see Tom Strenk ’ s piece on page 20 .
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST TREND OF 2019 ?
20 % 18 % 16 % 14 % 12 % 10 % 8 % 6 % 4 % 2 % 0 %
18 %
RTDs
15 % 15 %
Bourbon / American Whiskey
7 %
Source : The Beverage Dynamics 2019 State of the Industry Survey .
“ Pre-Recession , there wasn ’ t anywhere near this level of
Canned Wine cocktail culture , Now even dive bars are doing things with premium bourbons .”
Locally Made
6 % 6 %
Rising Interest in Wine
– David Jackson , NABCA
Rosé Wine
4 %
Spiked Seltzer
3 %
Craft Beer
7 ) RTDS Ready-to-drink beverages ( RTDs ) are no longer the cheap , sugary stuff relegated to lower shelves . The craft movement has made major headway in this category , going as far as to turn around decades-old stigmas about RTDs being low quality .
Much the opposite is true now . A huge wave of high-quality RTD cocktails has helped this category grow double digits , year over year , in recent time . As with the canned wine craze , drivers here include convenience and quality .
“ People today , particularly Millennials , are looking for innovation and quality ,” explains Bob Safford , founder of Boundary Waters Brands and Joia Spirit . The brand lineup currently includes a Sparkling Cosmopolitan , Sparkling Greyhound and Sparkling Moscow Mule cocktail . “ The difference we ’ re bringing is the next evolution of the craft spirit . We ’ re taking that trend and putting it into today ’ s ' convenient lifestyle '.”
Many of the retailers we polled in our 2019 State of the Industry Survey mentioned RTDs as a dominant trend at their store , or as a subject that their customers come in talking about . Especially around this time of year , when warmer weather means outdoor gatherings and activities , the convenience and variety of canned , premium cocktails fits perfectly into the modern consumer lifestyle .
The result has been an explosion in RTD sales .
“ I ’ ve been in the business a long , long time , but have never seen anything quite like this ,” says Wes Lewis , CEO of Ennoble Beverages , which is behind the malt-based canned Bloody Mary RTD called Tipsy Tomato . “ We ’ re so inundated by consumers today looking for something new .”
28 Beverage Dynamics • July / August 2019 www . beveragedynamics . com