Sightlines

As media outlets plan end-of-year coverage, our director of insights Bryan Roth and lead analyst Kate Bernot are available as independent experts on the biggest news and themes in beverage. Our analysis combines reliable data with *real conversations* with consumers—particularly those who recently came of legal drinking age. In 2024, we continued our coverage of major trend lines including: + Cannabis and THC: what consumers are looking for and how these products do and don’t impact alcohol sales + Changing consumer demographics for alcohol, cannabis, and functional wellness + What brand positioning is winning in CPG + What’s trending in on-premise strategy: guests' shifting visitation patterns, changing expectations for bars and restaurants, and how to capitalize on draft sales + The convergence of categories across alcohol Want to talk? Reach out: https://buff.ly/3UqeP0O

Across CPG categories, today's shopper can have their cake—and feel good about it, too. There's no longer a trade-off between treats and "better for you." When soda comes with probiotics and doughnuts are packed with protein, it's easy to justify the little mood boost we're craving. For more on how "little treat culture" intersects with BFY in the bev-alc space and beyond, subscribe now: https://buff.ly/3BVoOoq

We hear so often that THC is replacing alcohol. The reality is more nuanced. Sure, some THC users choose a gummy instead of a drink, but there's plenty of evidence that cannabis consumers *also* drink, and drink more than their counterparts who don't use cannabis. THC and alcohol have long coexisted as options for socializing, relaxation, and mood management—and Americans have continued to drink. Sightlines has a deep trove of analysis of THC-alcohol interplay. Get the real picture by subscribing now: https://buff.ly/48hjx6G

I'm so proud that the work Bryan Roth and I put into Sightlines' podcast, The Gist, is resonating. Our aim: All the beverage, alcohol, and THC news you need in 25 minutes or less. (Shout out to Jordan Stalling for making the audio sound great.) Next episode coming soon! https://lnkd.in/g2hJHwf3

Fascinating data out from Sightlines and Bryan Roth this week. Cannabis users are spending more on alcohol compared to non-users. Daily cannabis users spend 15.3% of their grocery dollars on alcohol, while non-users spend 14.3%. Occasional users spend even more—18.1%. Cannabis and alcohol are not opposing forces. Alcohol is not evil, and cannabis isn't about to destroy 10,000 years of human drinking culture. Greater access simply gives responsible adults more choices in how they want to imbibe and relax. Enjoy a scotch at the bar on Friday and an infused beverage on the golf course on Sunday. As with everything, enjoy responsibly and in moderation.

New beverage categories succeed by not being so precious about ideas of history and tradition. Instead, they offer fun, flavor, and joy—not a dissertation. Wonderwerk House of Fermentation gets it. The company’s newest brand, Lite Werk, is a series of 7% ABV wines made with blends of yuzu, hibiscus, or lemons (to mimic pink lemonade). Brands like Wonderwerk don’t have to give up romanticizing their products, but sometimes communicating with a consumer is a matter of cutting to the chase. “Boomers go to tasting rooms to learn. Millennials and Gen Z go to have a good time,” says co-founder Issamu Kamide. Want to better understand consumers so you can meet them on their level? Join us. https://buff.ly/3Njumvj

The speed of cross-category change has only increased in 2024. Are you keeping up? + Quirk, Boulevard Brewing Company’s hard seltzer that thrived with a hyper-local focus, spun off to include Quirktails cocktail-flavored FMBs. + Austin Eastciders released Rico Tepache, a cider made with pineapple, cinnamon, and ginger to mimic the traditional Mexican beverage. + New Belgium Brewing s Voodoo Ranger brand—once just a series of IPAs—now is the fourth best-selling hard tea in the country. Always consider how the consumer is most likely to understand what you're selling—don't shoehorn a brand into a traditional category just because it technically or legally falls there. We've heard this message loud and clear from Brewers Association's VP of strategy, Bart Watson: "In today’s world, you have to understand the total picture of alcohol more than ever before—even if you need to focus on your own category. You have to understand all this other stuff in order to excel." https://buff.ly/3zI0Egx

Beer-flavored beer is no longer the alpha and omega of American malt-based alcoholic beverages, and both its sales figures and its acolytes are worse off as a result. In my column this week at VinePair, I wrote about new scan data, new Sightlines analysis, and the double-edged sword of a well-defined category.

As alcohol segments have further blurred, it’s the "fourth category" that's been most malleable in flavor and format. It allow today’s drinker to define brand loyalty on their own terms, finding what suits their needs and desires in the moment. Even traditional beer, wine, and spirits have lessons to learn from how "adult alternative beverages" have adapted, fast, to these changes. We've been tracking this shift for years—come join us: https://buff.ly/3Njumvj

Some of today's most successful alcohol brands don't market themselves within their category. Buzzballz, LLC / Southern Champion, Stella Rosa, and BeatBox don't talk to consumers like traditional wine brands. New Belgium Brewing's Voodoo Ranger puts flavor and ABV front and center. Jack Daniel's Country Cocktails present as flavored cocktails despite their malt base. Understanding how a drinker sees your product unlocks more resonant, creative ways to reach them. We're here to help: https://buff.ly/3zI0Egx