Whisk(e)y, Tequila, RTDs Drive Growth At Midwestern Chain Schnuck Markets
October 24, 2025With 113 stores—nearly all of which sell wine, spirits, and beer—Schnuck Markets is a good bellwether of beverage alcohol sales trends in midwestern grocery stores. While spirits are struggling to advance much by volume nationally, privately owned Schnucks is seeing pockets of growth for some products in its Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana stores, and the company expects strong sales of premium wine and spirits for the upcoming holiday season.
Julie Dean, category manager, says that whisk(e)y—particularly Bourbon—Tequila, and RTD cocktails are all performing well, while vodka and rum are on the decline. “Whisk(e)y has been growing for several years,” she says, and Tequila is now emulating that trend. “Once customers have matured in their whisk(e)y exploration, they look to expand into a new category with similar but different styles, aging, and blending for sipping,” Dean explains. Tequila fits the bill and is increasingly being consumed neat, she notes.
RTD cocktails, meanwhile, are “on fire as customers seek convenience and portability,” Dean says. “Cutwater ($13 a 4-pack of 12-ounce cans in Missouri) stands out lately due to TikToks promoting the relatively high abv content.” Matt Maxfield, associate category manager, adds that canned cocktails and hard seltzers are “an exciting category that continues to blur the lines between beer, wine, and spirits.”
According to Dean, other spirits brands performing well at Schnucks include Buffalo Trace ($45 a 1.75 liter), which recently came off allocation in Missouri. The brand is seeing “huge growth, as you would expect,” she says. Among new products, Fireball Apple ($13 a 750 ml.) and Jack Daniel’s Blackberry ($25) have had “successful recent launches,” the retailer notes.
Indeed, spirits may be steering some consumers away from wine, Dean believes, noting that popular-priced wines are losing ground to spirits and RTDs at Schnucks. “Premium wines and three-liter box wines continue to hold their ground,” however, Dean says, while French wines are faring well. As the holidays get closer, sparkling wine will get more attention at Schnucks, Maxfield adds, with promotions tied to celebrations or sparkler-based cocktails.
Major beer brands like Busch Light ($22 a 30-pack), Michelob Ultra ($15 a 12-pack), and Modelo Especial ($16) account for the majority of the chain’s beer sales, Maxfield says, while “hyper-local beer brands continue to trend well in our stores.” Overall, the beer category at Schnucks is seeing growth in the value and premium segments, Dean says, “with some decline in the middle space.”
Despite reduced consumption of alcohol among some consumers today, the midwestern retailer is determined to capitalize on emerging opportunities and occasions. “Nationally, consumption is lower than it has been in the past 30 years,” Dean says, but we’re seeing interest and exploration in the NA beer space, with mocktails, and while we don’t currently carry them, THC beverages.” In the short term, Schnucks will focus on products that overindex in the fourth quarter.
“Premium segments of wine and spirits will thrive through the holidays with entertaining and gift-giving,” Maxfield says. “We expect continued success with American whiskies, Tequila, and cordials.”
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