Southern Glazer’s: Younger Consumers Driving The Low- And No-Alc Cocktail Trend

The low- and no-alcohol movement is among the key consumer dynamics shaping industry trends this year, driven by the preferences of younger consumers. At leading wholesale player Southern Glazer’s, Zach Poelma, SVP of Supplier Strategy & Insights, sees lower-alcohol cocktails like Spritzes continuing to gain traction nationwide, along with more mocktails being placed on on-premise menus.

“The younger generations are definitely driving this trend,” Poelma tells SND. “While nearly a quarter of consumers under 34 are moving towards non-alc crossovers, that number drops to single digits when you get above the age of 55. These consumers also tend to have slightly higher spending power than the average consumer and skew slightly towards females.”

Lower-alcohol Spritz cocktails have been lifting brands like Aperol in the marketplace—the Campari America label surged 40% to nearly 550,000 cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank—and have also expanded growth opportunities for sparkling wine marketers. “We continue to see cocktails that are lighter in alcohol content such as Spritzes grow in popularity and increase mentions on menus,” Poelma notes.

On-premise operators are also devoting more menu space to non-alcoholic options. “The data suggests Mocktail mentions on cocktail lists are up nearly 30% versus last year,” says Poelma, adding that 21-35-year-olds are drivers of the trend. “That being said, the data indicates that half of these consumers are also still ordering alcoholic beverages as well.”

The low and no trend continues to be a clear bright spot for the industry as both wine and spirits have encountered a more difficult market over the past year. “The low and non-alc segment is growing over 30%, which is significantly outpacing the core wine and spirits business,” says Poelma, noting that better-for-you wines are now over $750 million in annual retail sales in Nielsen channels.

Wine in particular has an opening to expand its consumption occasions as consumers favor lower-alcohol cocktails. “This will particularly help with recruiting consumers that may not want to consume wine in its traditional form and are looking for something a bit different,” Poelma says. “You’re also starting to see interest in products like soju that are lower in alcohol content but also have interesting non-traditional flavor profiles.” —Daniel Marsteller

Tagged : Aperol, Southern Glazer's, spritz

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