As summer moves in, consumers are looking forward to relaxing with their favorite adult beverage—as are convenience retailers.
Canned wine was all the rage in summer 2016, so what beverage trends are bubbling up for 2017? The Mintel Group looks at how some adult beverage segments will fair this year.
Return of Zima
Zima is rumored to return to the market on June 12th, following the rise of nostalgia and flavored alcoholic beverages, including spirits, wines, and beers, gaining immense popularity in recent years and becoming an integral part of the alcoholic drinks market:
- FMBs and coolers are already worth more than $2.5 billion annually, growing more than triple the entire beer category with annual dollar sales increasing 4.9%.
- The hard seltzer category is worth $60 million annually, however, is growing at a staggering pace, more than 900% in the last year alone.
- Flavored spirits represent more than $1.7 billion in consumer purchased: flavored vodka is $763 million, flavored whiskey is $718 million and flavored rum is $226 million.
- Ciders continue to perform with $465 million in sales.
- Shandies and radlers dollar sales are up more than 29% in dollars for the last 52 weeks, and up 31.4% for the last 13 weeks.
Consumers Drink Pink
Light and versatile, Rosé is perfect for long afternoons on the patio and even has its own mantra, “Rosé All Day.” Mintel found:
- Rosé (table) wine category is worth more than $207 million annually, growing at 53% in the latest 52 weeks period, outpacing the category as a whole which is growing at a modest 4%.
- While Rosé only represents 1.5% of the total table wine category, it is growing at a rate unheard of in other categories, 70% in the four weeks ending April 22, 2017.
- Sparkling Rosé is also having its moment in the sun with $139 million in annual sales and growing at 19%, more than double the total sparkling wine categories 9% dollar growth.
Innovative Packaging
As boxed wine continues to see growth, spirits producers are getting in on the low carbon footprint action. Retailers should take note of the continued strong performance of this innovative packaging:
- Boxed wine accounts for 7% of the total wine category with more than $1 billion in sales.
- Wine tetra packs are outpacing the total category with 22% growth in the last year with sales of $172 million.
- Wine in a can continues to command attention with $28 million in sales with an astounding annual sales growth of 187%.