Top Five Trends in Alcoholic Drinks

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key findings

A bitter cocktail of macro volatility and lifestyle shifts

Facing the dual headwinds of sustained economic and geopolitical pressures on the one hand and shifting drinking rituals on the other, the alcoholic drinks industry remains on the defensive for yet another year. A profound structural realignment - only further accentuated by lingering cyclical macro challenges - translates into sustained downside risks, at least in the short to medium term.

In suspended animation? Emerging markets momentum not enough to stem the tide

With the vast majority of key markets and categories flirting with stagnation or outright decline, the industry remains mired in a state of permacrisis. And yet the emerging market narrative still holds up: Brazil, India, South Africa and Mexico retain their positive trajectories even if not enough to change the underlying global story. 

Going analogue: An answer to the digital cacophony?

As the ubiquity of AI solutions breeds a backlash, loneliness takes epidemic proportions among younger demographics glued to their screens and online discourse becomes ever more polarised, a pushback against all things digital can provide opportunities for alcoholic drinks. Even while the on-trade remains under unprecedented pressure, the need for socialisation and real connection will only gain further prominence.

RTDs: Finding the escape valve as pressure mounts

With all major categories - namely beer, spirits, wine and cider - in negative territory, RTDs present the silver lining against the challenges faced by the industry. While inherently and generationally cyclical and risking a degree of cannibalisation of adjacent segments, RTDs can be utilised as a moat protecting wider brand and category ecosystems while building bridges with core younger demographics.

Non-alcoholic adult drinks retain intoxicating trajectory but is a pendulum shift on the way?

Moderation and sober curiosity retain their enviable buoyancy - even if the initial skyrocketing trajectories rediscover gravity and become more normalised - much like the trend itself. But as the state of permacrisis encapsulates the zeitgeist, could the rise of nihilistic indulgence change the narrative?