Sparkling Wine Not Most Popular Valentine’s Day Option

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

This research from CGA surprised us: Sparkling wine isn’t the most popular option for Valentine’s Day.  Soft drinks (28%) and beer are. They are both tied at 28%.  Rounding out the list is Table Wine (27%) and Cocktails (25%), with Sparkling Wine/Champagne sitting  fith at 24% in terms of categories consumers are planning to drink. This trend in planned consumption may also be influenced by the overlap with Superbowl Sunday, with 28% planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day earlier on Sunday 13th February.

The latest CGA study also finds 41% of US consumers are planning to visit On Premise to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and, as reinforced in CGA’s BeverageTrak data, the occasion typically sees consumers opting for fine dining restaurants (41%). However casual dining chains (30%) and independently owned restaurants (29%) also rank highly, highlighting that there are additional opportunities for these channels.  

While the Superbowl is not traditionally seen as an On Premise event, CGA’s research reveals more than a quarter of consumers plan to visit the channel for the game and that 39% are planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day earlier to avoid a clash. Of those planning to visit venues on Sunday, 68% are planning a pre-game visit but 55% plan to stay to watch the game in the On Premise.

Not surprisingly, beer (53%) tops the list of drink categories consumed during the Superbowl, but vodka (25%), shots (24%) and cocktails (22%) also rank highly as On Premise visitors celebrate during the game. While just over half of visitors plan to go to sports bars for the Superbowl, neighborhood bars (27%) also see a boost in terms of planned visitation.

Consumers are less concerned about COVID-19, a fact reflected in the lifting of mask mandates,  with 20% of consumers reporting that they are not concerned about Covid-19 at all. While this sentiment varies on a state-by-state basis, with those in Florida the least concerned about COVID-19, overall planned visitation has seen an uptick versus last month, with 39% planning to visit the On Premise in the next week (+6pp vs January 2022).

Looking ahead to future events, around 1 in 8 U.S. consumers plan to visit the On Premise to celebrate Mardi Gras, and again – Beer (41%) and Vodka (33%) prove popular, but Tequila (29%) and Cocktails (27%) are also favored.

“Consumers are showing their love for the On Premise this weekend, demonstrating they’re keen to celebrate occasions in their favorite venues rather than staying home, as concerns about COVID-19 fade away. There’s a lot for suppliers to take away from these insights, particularly in terms of drinks categories as we see Spirits and Cocktails continue to grow in popularity. CGA’s On Premise Cocktail Report delves deeply into the dynamics of this ever-evolving category and reveals how seasonally-focused trends translates into brand opportunities and helps drive sales,” Matthew Crompton, CGA Regional Director – North America, said.

 

 

 

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Health, Wellness Trend to Impact Super Bowl Parties This Year: NielsenIQ

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

Roughly two years into the pandemic, shoppers have developed a variety of new product preferences with underlying notions of boosting health and wellness, with 61% of Americans saying physical and mental wellness will become more of a priority over the next 12 months including as they watch the Super Bowl, according to NielsenIQ’s recent 2022 Consumer Outlook report.

Shoppers are proactively managing their health and are starting at the grocery store, adding and deleting ingredients and categories based on personal health needs (i.e., allergies and intolerances) and specialized eating regimens – which have driven 10% dollar growth in “food as medicine” categories since 2019.

The pandemic-related shift towards immunity-boosting food and beverage items fueled double-digit growth for clean-label, sustainable, specialty diet, and plant-based products, and it is expected that these new preferences will unfold across kitchen tables around the country during the most infamous Sunday of the year.

However, Nielsen says, these newly developed behaviors will come secondary to consumers’ desires to indulge with family and friends, especially for those who have not attended a Super Bowl gathering since prior to the pandemic.

Overall, there has been a large, growing consumer interest in healthier (but not necessarily the “healthiest”) options, where they’re searching for nutrition but also indulgence, with 29% of consumers actively seeking “healthier” options when browsing. As consumers’ definitions of health continues to evolve, retailers and manufacturers are tasked to aim higher by providing products that meet the massive shift in health-focused product preferences, in addition to in-depth product attribute data online and on packaging in order heavily reinforce the range of benefits a product provides. Health- and wellness-related consumer need states will continue to drive both consumption and grocery innovation, and corporations must pay attention to growing need states.

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Smirnoff to Throw ‘Most Epic Super Bowl Watch Party’ for Alaskan Miners

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

The miners are 100 miles north of Anchorage and love football but miss the amenities to normally tune in.  This year they will as Smirnoff stages when it is calling “the most epic Super Bowl watch party ever.”

As the first official vodka sponsor of the NFL, Smirnoff also ran a tect-to-win sweepstakes to award 56 lucky fans (in honor of Super Bowl LVI) “the ultimate Super Bowl Party watch kit perfect for the most unforgettable home-gating gameday. Starting of course with Smirnoff No. 21, the Super Bowl kit will feature 21 essentials all football fans need based on survey findings!”

Smirnoff and Super Bowl Champion, Vernon Davis will also make surprise drops with all the fixings for a winning game day to essential workers in the LA area who are not able to tune into the Super Bowl.

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Troegs Independent Brewing Intros Hop Horizon

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

The Hershey, Pa., brewer describes it as “your shortcut to where the sky meets the bines” an opportunity to smell a hop field in full bloom.  “This juicy IPA starts with a subtle blend of pale malts, wheat and oats. But the real star of the show is the hop combination – featuring Citra, Mosaic and Sabro. We taste: juicy waves of citrus, hints of bubblegum and a pop of tropical fruit. This delicious new IPA clocks in at 6.5% ABV and is available here at Tröegs and everywhere our beer is sold,” the company says.

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Who & What —

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

Blue Run Spirits names Shaylyn Gammon as its first Whiskey Director. Gammon will drive the development and expansion of Blue Run’s whiskey portfolio.  she joins Blue Run Spirits from Campari Group, where she managed product innovation projects across the company’s North American portfolio. Based in Kentucky, she worked closely with the Bourbon Hall of Fame duo of Jimmy and Eddie Russell on Wild Turkey whiskies, in particular brand extensions such as Master’s Keep, Rare Breed, Russell’s Reserve and Matthew McConaughey’s Longbranch.

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Will Rise in Consumer Prices Squeeze Bev/Al Marketers?

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

The truth is, nobody — including us — knows what impact the 7.5% in consumer prices in January will have on sales of beer, wine and spirits.   But we think you should expect a repeat of the historical pattern in which when personal budgets get pinched, people trade down on what that drink, but don’t significantly reduce the amount of beer, wine or spirits that they consume.

Will that pattern hold in 2022?  We don’t know.  Many consumers still have ample savings, other media tell us, although Attom, which tracks foreclosures, reported Thursday (2/10) the number of foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions -in January was 29% higher than in December and 139% higher than a year earlier.  Foreclosures are the highest since the Covid pandemic began, but “far below normal levels – less than half as many as in January of 2020 before the pandemic was declared, and about 60% lower than the number of foreclosure completions in 2019,” says Rick Sharga, executive vice president of RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company.

Another sign of trouble: After surveying more than 6,500 people, Aflac, the insurance people, found that 46% of respondents do not have enough savings set aside to pay for potential unexpected medical expenses, even when they have insurance. For those living in economically distressed communities, that percentage is even higher.  Some 24% of respondents report having no money in their savings accounts and 48% say they have $1,000 or less. Further exacerbating the situation is that 33% of insured Americans cannot go more than one week without a paycheck, while 71% cannot endure a month without pay.

Those figures suggest to us that what you may see is a bifurcated market:  High-end spirits do well even while popular priced beverages gain share from premium beverages.

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