Alcohol Drinks Market – Size, Trends, RTD Alcohol & New Drinks (2021/2022)
Following the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the alcoholic drinks market has changed dramatically in the past 18 months alone. Many people are investing more in ready to drink cocktails at home as a result of bar and pub closures, for example.
But with all of this in mind – what is the global ready to drink market looking like worldwide? Who are the major consumers, and what are some of the most popular beverages heading further into the New 20s? Let’s take a look at some data and market research.
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How much is the alcohol industry worth?
As of 2020, the global drinks market is worth around $1.49 trillion USD.
That, believe it or not, was a slight shrinkage from the previous year, meaning the growth rate dipped during the pandemic.
Despite people buying and enjoying RTD beverages at home, much of this dip in the alcoholic beverages market could be attributed to venue closures.
Overall worldwide revenue for the market in 2020 falls just short of $1.5 million USD.
Despite this downturn, analysis shows that market growth might be just around the corner.
Is the alcohol industry growing?
Market research suggests that rising demand for alcohol across the globe is expected to pick up again, with an annual growth spike of around 10.03% expected for 2021.
Some analysis claims that the market will expand from $1.49 trillion USD to $2.2 trillion USD by 2025. This, again, could be as a result of re-emergence from the pandemic, post widespread vaccination, and reopening of venues.
The industry seems to be growing globally, with the Asia Pacific market providing healthy sales throughout 2020.
In fact, China continues to produce the most revenue from alcohol worldwide, and therefore might be considered the fastest growing regional market.
Around 43% of all spending on alcohol by 2025 will, according to analysis, take place outside of the home.
Therefore, an increase in e-commerce dependency may tip the balance in favour of home consumption in the years to come.
The global ready to drink market is likely to grow, and with key players in the specialist beverage niche such as hard seltzer growing in popularity, trends are only likely to spike further.
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What is a ready to drink alcohol?
Ready to Drink (RTD) alcohol has seen a large boom recently. Drinks that fall under the RTD category are those that come ready-mixed, such as home cocktails, which would normally require extensive preparation.
As mentioned, a popular side to RTD cocktails include hard seltzers, which essentially emulate soft drinks with low alcohol content added in. This may include root beer, for example, or gin and tonic available in cans. Of course, there are hard seltzers with higher alcohol content, too.
When did RTD alcohol become popular?
RTD alcohol has been around for decades, but it has only become popular with a consumer market in North America, South America and beyond through its ‘light’ credentials – and its massive convenience.
Reports show that refined versions of ‘alcopops’ from the 1990s and 2000s are causing large surges of interest across the US and Japan.
This comes as a result of consumers starting to look more carefully at their health – concerned about sugar content in spirits and wine as well as in the food they eat.
There is also an increasing interest amongst consumers in gluten-free RTDs and associated brands.
How big is the RTD alcohol market?
The RTD market is said to be worth around $714.8 million USD as of 2020. This is thought to be growing ever more, with around 12.0% CAGR (or compound annual growth rate) expected year on year heading up to 2028.
Many analysts believe this trend will continue largely as packaging evolves and new single serve options arise in the years to come.
Of course, the relatively low price of premium, ready to drink cocktails will also likely serve the market well.
How big is the cocktail mixer market?
The cocktail market, in general, is worth around $86 million USD, as of 2021.
This is expected to grow to hit more than $1.4 billion by 2026, past the mid-decade marker.
This is hardly in contrast with the ready to drink cocktails market, with there still being considerable interest in home mixing alongside pre-canned convenience.
What is the most popular alcohol in 2020/2021?
Beer remains the king of global alcohol sales in 2020, though it will remain to be seen if this stays the case heading into 2021.
With RTD sales spiking, it is unclear whether or not cocktails will ever grow past the allure of lager.
Spirit brands such as Smirnoff remain hugely popular with consumer markets worldwide, while there is still a keen taste for wine the world over.
What drinks are trending?
As we’ve observed, RTDs are only going to continue to enchant consumers.
However, report analysis shows that there are going to be big surges for tequila, whiskey and Cognac in the year ahead.
This interesting shift towards spirits, yet again, arrives on the back of limited access during the pandemic.
Whiskey, in particular, did not fare too well during lockdowns, however, as bars and venues open back up, it appears to be back in the glassware again.
What is the next big spirit?
Keep an eye out for tequila, and maybe even mezcal, heading into the next year.
While the market share for RTDs with innovation may be high in the here and now, people will start getting back into the bar drinks and mixes they know and love post-lockdown.
However, it will also be interesting to see 2021’s report with regard to the COVID effect – will demand for online innovation continue?
There may be significant home drinking conversion that could weather years to come. It’s going to be a very interesting report, to say the least.
In the meantime, global markets such as China, Japan and other eastern territories appear to surge ahead – so we will have to see how their individual beverage demand trends affect the global standard.
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SOURCES
https://www.winemag.com/2020/12/17/drink-trends-bars-2021/
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2020/11/12/Best-selling-alcohol-brands-2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemicallef/2021/01/13/after-covid-the-top-ten-trends-shaping-the-adult-beverage-market-in-2021/?sh=369c943e461d
https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/cocktail-market
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/ready-to-drink-cocktails-market
https://www.theiwsr.com/news-and-comment-radius-trend-rtd-evolution/
https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/alcoholic-drinks/worldwide
https://www.statista.com/forecasts/696641/market-value-alcoholic-beverages-worldwide