Various categories of alcohol like spirit, wine and beers have seen key trends that are shaping what’s to come in the following years. Evidently, low and no alcohol products are predicted to have a rapid boom in the future with the largest markets being the US, UK, France and Germany. Unfortunately, data suggests that the spirits category will see a slight decline in volumes while the wine category outperforms other categories. With these changes, innovations at a larger level are inevitable and will suggest category exploration and extension.
Clarity regarding the intake of alcohol beverages within the limit is often missed and not taken care of. Brands and representatives need to take care of what they’re promoting and should continue to educate their consumers about alcohol percentage and provide more clarity on low-alcohol propositions. Branding and marketing of the products shouldn’t disregard the existing value of the low percentage of alcohol.
Reduced alcohol levels are now popular within established brands as well who are seeking to recruit customers by creating line extensions of their already existing products but with a lower alcohol percentage. This trend is seen amongst wine brands as well. Talking about wines, technology within the wine segment is increasingly taking over and aims to increasingly position wines and correct its long-term decline. For instance, the federal government of Australia aims to address this issue by a research grant of around 3m AUS in order to make Australia the largest global producer of no alcohol or low alcohol wines.
Investment in better technology would certainly have an impact on the sale of wine across the world. Not only Australia, but Japan is also increasingly expanding its lines across multiple categories like that of ‘Sparkling Sake’ and ‘Soda Sake’ with relatively lower alcohol content. Brands that offer healthier options, including less calories, reduced sugar and in general, with credentials that target wellness, are being more and more talked about, dominantly among the legal drinking age category of the Gen Z.
Reformulation of alcohol duty laws are simultaneously taking place in the UK along with the coming in of lower alcohol beverages while in the US, the low alcohol wine category is expected to grow however, the case isn’t the same for low alcohol spirits category. Nevertheless, brands and companies are making inroads by introducing more no/low products and alternatives by emphasizing on the wellness and better health that is associated with lower alcohol intake.
