Spirits in Japan

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Highballs remain popular in 2019 but Japanese whisky suffers from supply shortages

Whiskies remained the standout category in spirits in 2019. The category’s strong growth has been spurred by the ongoing fashion for highballs – which has extended from Japanese whisky to other types, including bourbon and Scotch whiskies – in both on-trade and off-trade channels.

Manufacturers look to give shochu/soju a makeover as sales fall

Shochu/soju, a traditional local spirit distilled from barley, rice or sweet potatoes, continued to dominate total volume sales of spirits at the end of the review period. However, the category continued to decline in total volume terms in 2019 with it suffering from the ageing of its core consumer base.

Suntory Spirits explores new opportunities as supplies of domestic whisky dry up

Suntory Spirits extended its lead in spirits in 2019. The company played a key role in creating the whisky boom in Japan during the review period by suggesting the highball, a mix of whisky and soda, as a drinks option.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

On-trade volume sales of spirits are expected to fall by 37% in 2020 in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to the 0% growth forecast for 2020 during research conducted in May 2019, ie before the spread of COVID-19.

Affected products within spirits

Shochu/soju is the dominant category within spirits due to its popularity with older and middle-aged consumers; however, with many of these consumers also falling into the at-risk group for COVID-19 this has resulted in a sharp decline in sales through the on-trade in 2020. Whiskies has fared slightly better with off-trade sales continuing to enjoy heathy growth despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, although on-trade sales have seen a huge slump.

Recovery and opportunities

Spirits is at a crossroads in Japan with the dominant category of shochu/soju suffering from an old-fashioned image, while the country’s rapidly ageing population has placed an ever greater focus on healthy lifestyle habits. Thus, although spirits is projected to rebound strongly in the early part of the forecast period as on-trade outlets reopen, by the end of the forecast period sales are expected to start declining again.

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