By: Marina Velez
Minneapolis, Minn., (March 13, 2025) – Growth within the beverage alcohol industry remained constrained last year, driven by the wine and beer industries posting case volume losses and notable growth deceleration of leading brands in the distilled spirits segment. Among the factors impacting overall beverage alcohol sales - both on and off-premise - were economic conditions, attitudinal shifts towards alcohol, legislative changes, and continued behavioral reset post pandemic. While interest remains in drinking high-end products at home and at on-premise establishments for spirits, wine and beer, the premiumization trend also showed signs of deceleration across most beverage alcohol categories as consumers contended with persistent inflationary pressures.
The spirits category continues to outperform the wine and beer categories driving the beverage alcohol industry. Although distilled spirits achieved their 27th consecutive year of volume growth in 2024, the growth rate has been shrinking. Still, spirits remain a bright spot within the beverage alcohol industry advancing by 2.3%. However, without the inclusion of RTDs, distilled spirits volume would have declined by -1.4%. Domestic spirits consumption was up 3.7% while imported spirits slipped down slightly. Non-Whiskey segments contributed all of total spirits growth, up 3.4% versus 2023.
Only three categories realized growth last year: Ready-to-Drink beverages (RTDs), Tequila and Canadian Whiskey. RTDs continue as the standout within the total spirit’s market with a projected growth of 20%, representing a slight slowdown from the prior year but still marking the most significant growth in total distilled spirits. Among the top 50 spirits brands, eight were RTD’s, all of which demonstrated substantial growth compared to the prior year. Tequila marked its 23rd consecutive year of volume growth with a 5.6% increase, ranking it as the second fastest-growing spirits category of the year. As a reference, only three tequilas within the top 50 lost volume.
The Wine industry is currently amid a significant reset after almost 30 years of growth. Total wine volume consumption decreased 4.5%, marking the third consecutive year of loss. Both domestic and imported wines ended the year with disappointing volume losses. The table wine category registered a 4.8% decline in volume and was a key segment suppressing the industry. Demand declined across all channels including restaurants, retail stores, and direct sales through wineries. Potential tariffs and other economic factors could continue to widen the domestic/import gap. To move forward, focused efforts must address the existing obstacles, while also embracing innovation to capture younger generations and multicultural consumers.
The champagne and sparkling wine category had been on an upward growth trajectory for over twenty consecutive years and has been the key driver of growth in the overall wine category. However, 2024 saw the category drop by 4.7% in the U.S., driven by a challenging year for both domestic and imported segments. Exceptions to the declines were gains in Prosecco and Cava.
The U.S. Beer industry decreased volume consumption by 2.7% in 2024 as only two beer segments (imported and flavored malt beverages) achieved any volume growth, but were not able to offset the significant decline of other domestic beer categories, particularly the 4.4% decline of the largest segment, light beer. Only three of the top ten brands showed gains versus 2023.
A growth sector for the beer industry continues to be imported beer, the second-largest category, which experienced a 3.6% expansion rate. Mexican brands dominate the import segment, with seven out of the top ten leading brands being imported.
About the 2025 Industry Overview
The 2025 Industry Overview details the year’s first look of the beverage alcohol industry, including preliminary projections of 2024 volume consumption data and trends in the distilled spirits, wine and beer categories.
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