Minneapolis, Minn., (March 7, 2024) – The beverage alcohol market had a challenging 2023 as the wine and beer industries posted case volume losses and distilled spirits growth decelerated versus the last few years with many leading brands declines. Shipments from suppliers declined significantly in some segments, as inventory levels by distributors and retailers leveled off from post-pandemic overstocking highs amid economic pressures.
“While premiumization was still prevalent across spirits, wine, and beer, there were indications some of those high-end trends were starting to cool off as many consumers controlled discretionary income driven by high inflation and persistent financial constraints,” comments Marina Velez, Research Director at the Beverage Information Group. “Consumers’ attention on health-conscious lifestyles also remained evident as lower ABV/no alcohol options expanded appeal, albeit still on a small base.”
Distilled Spirits achieved its 26th consecutive year of steady volume growth in 2023, yet at a decelerated pace versus prior years’ performance. The category ultimately advanced by 1.7% to 295.7 million 9-liter cases. The category continues to significantly outperform the wine and beer categories driving the beverage alcohol industry forward more than beer or wine. Domestic spirits consumption in 2023 was up 3.8% while imported spirits went down by -1.5%. Only three categories realized growth in 2023--Ready-to-Drink beverages (RTDs), Tequila, and Straights.
Total wine volume consumption decreased -3.4% in 2023 to 336.6 million 9-liter cases, marking the second consecutive year of loss. The Table Wine category registered a -3.7% decline in 2023 volume to 297.7 million 9-liter cases. The Champagne & Sparkling Wine segment also dropped by -3.4% in the U.S. driven by a challenging year for domestic sparkling and imported Champagne.
The U.S. Beer industry decreased case sales by -4.4% in 2023 to 2.68 billion 2.25-gallon cases. Total domestic beer ended 2023 at 2.10 billion 2.25-gallon cases which accounted for an 78.2% share of the overall category. Flavored Malt Beverages (FMB’s) were the only major domestic segment to grow, increasing case volume by 6.4% marking the fifth consecutive year of total share gains (+0.5). Improving to a 21.8% share of the American beer market, imported beer experienced a 5.8% growth increase, the second highest of any category.
About the 2024 Industry Overview
The 2024 Industry Overview details the year’s first look of the beverage alcohol industry, including preliminary projections of 2023 volume consumption data and trends in the distilled spirits, wine and beer categories.
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