Trends Of 2018- Determining How And What You Drink
Our taste is evolving. As the years went by, we have changed the way we live, eat and stay healthy. And now, we are evolving in our drinks as well. Here, I am listing some top trends of this year that are changing the way we picked our beverage.
Drinking Better Beer
People are opting for better drinks. Be it beer or any other alcoholic beverage, we are not concentrated on the cheap. We want a good drink. Studies show that the sales of domestic beer have dropped while that of crafted beer has gone up.
Cider and IPA are selling high, and the imports stood strong. Wheat beers have gained popularity as well. The beer drinkers have realized that unfiltered beers are more authentic, raw and flavourful. And this is happening with the spirits too.
Drinking At Satellite Taprooms And tasting Rooms
Drink makers are indulging customers in tasting rooms. These tasting rooms help us, the customers to understand the process of the making of the drink, especially wine and beer.
Alameda’s Admiral Maltings has a tasting room overlooking the floor where it does the malting. Also, White Labs added a restaurant in Asheville. The brewery took this step for expanding its beer-only tasting rooms in Boulder and San Diego.
Also, the breweries and distilleries are expanding their brick-and-mortar operations in every that place where they will find the foot traffic. Many of them have tasting rooms at the airports.
Moreover, breweries taprooms are going to be everywhere. These tap rooms are connecting the breweries personally to the consumers. And soon, these taprooms will be the place where consumers will prefer drinking all over the world.
Buying Experience And Not The Drink
The drinkers are not satisfied with the purely transactional relationship with our drink provider. We want more. We want the experience and not just the drink.
And that’s why retailers are examining programs like grocerants, cooking classes, in-store bars, etc. for adding the experience to the product. In the era of social media, we want something, an experience to write and tweet about, even in a bar.
Spending More For Quality
We are ready to trade the quantity for the quality. We want to drink good quality alcohol and savour it instead of just gulping down dozens of them.
The super premiums are back in fashion, and the domestic beer and spirit drinkers have headed towards the imported drinks. And this reflects in the pattern of the sales of beer and other spirits.
Choosing To get High Over Getting Drunk
A study suggests that the millennial cohort prefers getting high over getting drunk. Because getting high won’t make the consumers fat and they won’t have to spend as much money.
The alcohol companies are trying to meet the millennials in their market. Many of them have already launched the non-alcoholic beverages that are laced with pots in the states where pots are recreationally legal.
Seedlip is the first non-alcoholic spirit, and it was launched this year. With its arrival, Pinterest showed a jump of 160% in the search for mocktails. Heineken, last year, introduced o.o% near beer.
You can find the non-alcoholic beverages easily at bars. Not just that, companies like VinePair are now identifying the fine dining spots for catering to this ongoing culture.
And then, some drinkers don’t want to be disconnected from the alcoholic beverages entirely. They are opting for low-ABV alternatives instead of traditional spirits in their cocktails. Fortified wines and craft beers have gone premium where craft beers have come up with the innovative offering called Shim Cocktails.
Liking The Bars And the Bartenders
We live in an era of social media. people walk around with their Instagram accounts and a high-quality camera. We have never lived in a more visual culture than now. And that’s why the colour of the food and the drink along with our environment dominates our preferences.
We can say that the colour has power and it is the social currency. The exact same shade doesn’t matter much. What matters is the brands understanding that colour is an easy way to reach the desired consumer base. They must also understand that the colour will become even more important for the ultimate success.
The Home Delivery
We don’t want to leave the house. Drinking in the comfort of our house gives us the best ever experience. So, the breweries and alcoholic beverages companies must try home delivering the beverages.
And Buffalo Wild Wings has started to pack up the booze and sending it up for the home delivery in 19 Californian stores already. Slowly, more companies will be adopting the same method to attract the customers and reach the desired consumer base.
Consolidation, Closures, Retraction, And Retrenchment
In January, may old breweries were shut down. Also, many of them are experiencing retraction and reduction because they have realized that distributing wide and far is going to be expensive.
Also, we are going to witness some breweries combining. Heineken and MillerCoors are giving out some feeble signs. This step will revive many dying breweries. And of course, it will impact our drinking preferences as well.
Rye Whisky
Drinkers have set their heart on America’s Rye whiskey. Between 2009 and 2016, its production went up by 778%, believe it or not. This increase in the production has taken the revenue of rye whiskey makers up by 900%. All of this shows the change in the drinking pattern of whiskey.
These trends are going to impact the drinking preferences of the consumers. We are shifting our interest from more to better. We are looking for something different, something that looks good on our social networking sites and something that tastes as good.
These trends of this year are influencing the breweries and alcohol companies as well. They are trying to catch up with the changing trends. Those who are failing are closing down while those who are willing to succeed are looking for innovations. Someone rightly said the consumer is the king.
