Alcoholic Drinks

2020 was an exceptional year for spirits overall, as the surge in off-trade volume sales for at-home consumption outweighed the losses in the on-trade channel. Defying many expectations, 2022 remained a year of growth for the category in total volume…

A greater focus on sustainability in the United Arab Emirates has reached alcoholic drinks. Consumer demand for sustainable spirits in particular, has been met by a new launch of award-winning and sustainable tequila brand Mijenta. Mijenta’s…

The increase in the global oil price has had a notable impact on the price of spirits, particularly imported products. This is due to the pricing domino effect caused by related increases in production costs, shipping expenses, and packaging costs…

Even though total volume sales of spirits increased in 2022, volumes did not return to the pre-pandemic level. The supply chain crisis and rising production costs, such as raw materials and energy, which were exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, had a…

Soju, which accounts for the largest total volume share of spirits in South Korea, experienced a weak performance over the review period with stagnant demand in 2022. In addition to a sober curious culture, local consumers have shifted to categories…

In 2022, enthusiastic bar-goers drove strong on-trade volume growth for spirits. The full reopening of nightlife venues drove the growth of Singapore’s bar and cocktail scene, as businesses saw a rise in reservations. Singapore has a world-renowned…

In 2022, US demand for tequila (and mezcal) continued its dynamic growth. At the same time, agave prices observed significant increases, driven by this demand, but also by inflationary pressures. This resulted in significant price increases for…

After consecutive years of decline, total volume sales of spirits returned to growth in 2022. Spirits has a higher proportion of on-trade sales than other alcoholic drinks categories. Before the pandemic, it accounted for more than 33% of total…

Spirits was the category to suffer the most from Italy’s COVID-19 related restrictions. Indeed, unlike wine and beer, a significant share of on-trade sales of spirits traditionally concern non-dining establishments such as nightclubs. These…

Shochu/soju has been experiencing growth in the Indonesian market supported by the general rise in interest in Korean culture, and particularly K-Pop, across the globe. In recent years, there has also been more product variation available in the…

In 2022, total volume sales of spirits recovered from the pandemic-battered year in 2020, returning to the above the pre-pandemic level of sales. All types of spirits saw growth due to the easing and then removal of pandemic restrictions by the…

While 2021 was an atypical year in sales of spirits, leading to small positive growth, volume sales fell into a small negative decline in 2022 – as per the structure of the category pre-pandemic. However, this hides another atypical trend – namely…

In a category where overall demand for most types of spirits declined in 2022, liqueurs was a positive performer and was key to offsetting some of the category’s fall (especially through the off-trade channel). Liqueurs continued to record positive…

Spirits returned to seeing positive volume growth in both 2021 and 2022, having experienced a year of decline in 2020, including a particularly steep fall in sales in the on-trade, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, spirits saw on-trade growth…

2022 saw a decline in the total volume sales and share of hard seltzers (included within other RTDs), in part due to this category showing signs of maturity. As the veteran and still largest product type within RTDs, hard seltzers no longer elicit…

Spirit-based RTDs continued to drive category sales in the United Arab Emirates at the end of the review period. These mainly consist of rum-based drinks with 4% ABV mixed with fruit flavours, such as strawberry, orange, pineapple, grapefruit,…

RTDs returned to volume growth in 2022 following two years of significant decline due to the markedly changed conditions of the COVID-19 crisis. However, sales remained well below the levels seen immediately prior to the pandemic. Despite the…

RTDs saw growth in both total volume and current value terms in 2022, bringing sales back to levels above those seen in 2019. Volume growth was partly the result of the rebound in on-trade sales, which was facilitated by the complete removal of…

RTDs used to be considered exotic and a “lighter” alcoholic drink in South Korea among younger generations of adults. However, beer has now replaced this positioning. While the leading RTD players, such as Independent Liquor Korea and Lotte Asahi…

On-trade volume sales of RTDs witnessed further dynamic growth in 2022. Sales were impacted by the removal of capacity limits on nightlife establishments as COVID-19 safe management measures continued to ease. Efforts by operators to encourage…