TRIP REPORT
“ It’ s not that Gen Z doesn’ t spend as much on alcohol, but they actually spend relatively the same percentage of alcohol,” Deloney explained.“ The same percentage of a smaller pot is not going to be the same percentage of a larger pot.” Especially when compared with Boomers, which are the wealthiest generation in American history.
Naturally, Gen Z will not remain at the bottom of the workforce forever. This could bode well for the industry’ s economic fortunes in the future.“ As Gen Z get on their feet and start making more money and move forward, there’ s data to support the argument that they’ ll become stronger alcohol consumers than they currently are,” Deloney said.
The rise of GLP−1 weight-loss drugs was another headwind much discussed for negatively affecting alcohol sales.
“ GLP−1 drugs have had a small but measurable drag on alcohol,” said David Jackson, NABCA SVP Trade Relations, during the same panel.“ Fifty-four percent of adults drink, and of those, six percent are GLP−1 users. Of that six percent, 45 percent of GLP−1 users say that they have started to cut back on alcohol. That represents about one percent of beverage alcohol sales, or about 8,100 9−liter cases of spirits every day.”
“ It’ s not that dramatic, but it’ s something to look at,” he continued, adding that these numbers were before GLP−1 drugs become generically available and cheaper to buy— meaning more trouble may lie ahead here.
Painting a rosier picture on the panel was Lester Jones, NBWA VP Analytics and Chief Economist.“ I’ m not convinced that the sales aren’ t coming,” he said.“ The data shows that the economy is strong, and people of all ages still want to go out and spend money on alcohol. We still want to be together. Socialization, being together, is what we want to do.”
“ The data shows that there are more active drinkers now than there were 10 years ago,” he continued.“ The problem is fragmentation. People are looking for more things, new places to shop.”
Like other panelists, Jones believed the bigger issue with younger consumers was money. With inflation and tariffs raising prices, Gen Z and Millennials have cut back on spending, and are less likely to buy multiple drinks on one occasion. But because they still want memorable experiences.“ This is an occasion problem,” he said.“ Figuring out where the people want to be is our problem.”
To that end, his fellow panelist, Steve Gross, Wine Institute VP of State Relations, echoed the need to connect organically with Gen Z.“ Younger people do not feel part of the wine business,” he argued.“ They feel like it’ s stuffy. They feel like it’ s not relevant to their world.”
Pointing out that these consumers are digital natives, always online, he added,“ We have to show up in their world, rather than wait for them to mature and join our world.” Accordingly, he described a big digital push by the Wine Institute for better category awareness online.“ Unless we can convince 25− to 35−year-olds that we are relevant to them, that will continue to be a drag on us.”
Cannabis beverages were a category repeatedly recognized for their recent growth. During the closing panel on this sub-
The Ohio Liquor Commission with their Best Practices awards.
The West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration.
The Ohio Liquor Commission and West Virginia ABCA.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
6 StateWays • Winter 2025 www. stateways. com