• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Analysts: Generational trends and climate change present key issues for alcohol brands

April 2, 2020Chris Crowell

millennials buying trends
Rumquila? You don’t say…

A tension exists in alcoholic drinks between consumers’ established preferences, market norms, openness to innovation, and products that cross traditional category or flavor lines. Creative and edgy innovation works best when it retains a connection to the familiar, allowing consumers to experiment and try new things, but with a degree of confidence, says GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

The company’s latest report, ‘Top Trends in Alcoholic Drinks’, notes that while traditional flavors in alcohol hold sway over consumers’ choices in a top-line sense, a different picture emerges when reviewing flavor choices by generation and gender. Gen Z, who are still relatively ‘new’ drinkers, are not bound by traditional flavors – with 31% opting for new, trendy options and 30% choosing flavors classed as unusual.

GlobalData

Richard Parker, Principal Consumer Insight Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Gen Z consumers are influenced by the newness and trendiness of flavors, as promoted through social media, and by visual as well as flavor aspects.

“This generational landscape creates a fertile territory for products such as hybrid beverages, which marry familiar categories in new and exciting ways – for example ‘vodquila’ or ‘rumquila’. Hybrids can introduce interesting flavor notes and unique premium narratives through the use of storage and aging techniques from other categories, such as beer stored in wine or spirit barrels, or taking flavors from food products.”

Makes sense. But climate change?

Despite the opportunities for innovation and demographic targeting still to be had in such a mature market, Parker says alcohol brands face some growing macro-level issues.

“Climate change, and the unpredictable effects this is having on the supply chain, is undermining regular and sustainable approaches to production and consumption. This will force change in available products.

“Climate change affecting barley yields could lead to beer shortages and rising prices of barley (and beer) – subsequently resulting in a fall in global consumption. The risk of falling supply and significantly boosted prices means that brands will need to give consumers strong reasons to continue to purchase their products as premium becomes luxury and standard products effectively premium in price.”

global-beer-decline
Heineken’s loss reflects 5 percent decline in beer and cider industry over 2020, says GlobalData
Green beer bottle with water splash isolated on white
GlobalData: Sustainable packaging is the next battleground for premium alcohol producers
robot beer orange background cbb crop
Artificial Intelligence is coming to make beer, GlobalData analysts explore the implications
beer map world globe cbb crop
Global mega brewers are embracing ultra-light, ‘healthier’ beer brands; it’s something to consider

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • How Rasmussen Mechanical Services cut draft beer waste at Oasis Bar by 32 percent
  • Distribution update: Athletic Brewing and Buffalo Wild Wings team up + news from Evil Genius, Trap Door, Living The Dream and more
  • Urban Artifact crafts the world’s most expensive fermented beverage and more beers to know this week
  • OK, Neshaminy Creek Brewing is planning the best anniversary party I’ve ever seen

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Distribution update: Athletic Brewing and Buffalo Wild Wings team up + news from Evil Genius, Trap Door, Living The Dream and more
    May 25, 2022
  • urban-artifactUrban Artifact crafts the world’s most expensive fermented beverage and more beers to know this week
    May 24, 2022
  • 2022 Beer Branding Trends Part 2: Beyond Beer
    May 23, 2022
  • The-IBA-TeamIBA hits milestone – 1 million bbls of buying power – what’s next for the co-op?
    May 19, 2022
  • 2022 Beer Branding Trends Part 1: Reinvention
    May 17, 2022
  • satisfaction surveysAre brewery employees happy? Depends on the department
    May 16, 2022

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2022 · CBB Media LLC

Posting....