Bev-alc off-premise dollar sales may have stemmed the outgoing tide of the past several weeks, but were still in the red year-over-year (YoY) and week-over-week (WoW), according to the latest weekly scans report from market research firm Circana.
Total bev-alc dollar sales topped $1.425 billion, marking YoY (-0.3%) and WoW (-0.7%) declines during the week ending August 10. Volume declined 1.9% YoY.
“After a couple of better weeks followed by a week of retracement, we are back to a better position this week,” Circana BevAl EVP Scott Scanlon wrote. “Still a lot of red, but American [domestic] super premium is up 5% this week and spirits grew 6%, still fueled primarily by hot RTDs [ready-to-drink cocktails], while wine continues to struggle although a bit less negative this week.
“It is still a bit early to see Labor Day climb, but hopefully we can continue the less negative trend and see some broadening of growth brands from the same names that have been outperforming,” he continued.
Beer category dollar sales reached $935.9 million, reflecting YoY declines in both dollars (-0.09%) and volume (-2.6%).
Only two brand families in the top 10 posted growth in dollars and volume:
- No. 3 Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) Michelob Ultra, dollars +5.2%, volume +4.1%;
- No. 8 A-B’s Busch, dollars +3.5%, volume +2%.
No. 5 Molson Coors’ Coors grew dollar sales (+1.2%), but declined in volume (-0.7%), as did No. 7 Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw (dollars +1.2%, volume -1.8%).
All five double-digit dollar sales gaining brands in last week’s report continued their streak this week, and three were able to build momentum:
- No. 15 Constellation Brands’ Pacifico, dollars +18.8%, volume +15.3% (accelerating from +18.8% and +15.3%, respectively, last week);
- No. 29 Geloso’s ClubTails, dollars +12.5%, volume +8.9% (accelerating from +11.5% and +8.2%);
- No. 33 Constellation’s Victoria, dollars +38.6%, volume +38.3% (decelerating from +43.1% and +42.3%);
- No. 44 Athletic, dollars +19.9%, volume +18.7% (accelerating from +14.6% and +16.3%);
- And No. 48 A-B’s Goose Island, dollars +11.2%, volume +8.3% (decelerating from +13.3% and +6.6%).
Other beer brands with noteworthy growth, given the category’s overall sluggishness, include No. 12 Diageo’s Smirnoff flavored malt beverage (dollars +8.3%, volume +5.3%), No. 24 Mark Anthony’s Cayman Jack (dollars +6.3%, volume +2.4%) and No. 32 Boston Beer’s Angry Orchard hard cider (dollars +9.8%, volume +9.4%).
Outside the beer category, wine’s declines hovered in the mid-single digits in both dollars (-4.1%) and volume (-5.2%). Spirits continued to outpace (dollars +6.3%, volume +14.7%) overall bev-alc trends. RTDs, which include products with alcohol bases across all three mega categories, kept pace with spirits’ dollars (+6.2%) but trailed in volume gains (+1.2%).
Among spirits-based RTDs, Gallo’s High Noon Sun Sips and Sazerac’s BuzzBallz retained their spots at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. High Noon returned to volume growth (+7.2%) after a few weeks in the red; the brand’s dollar sales increased 7.5%.
BuzzBallz accelerated in both metrics to up 74.5% in dollars and 81.8% in volume (from +68.3% and +75% last week).
Other noteworthy RTD performances included:
- BeatBox, dollars +21.1%, volume +18.2%;
- A-B’s Cutwater Spirits, dollars +88.9%, volume +94.5%;
- A-B’s Nütrl, dollars +21.6%, volume +19.3%;
- Stateside’s Surfside, dollars +451.9%, volume +467.1%;
- Boston Beer’s Sun Cruiser, dollars +472.3%, volume +507.3%;
- Carbliss, dollars +67.8%, volume +70.2%;
- Long Drink, dollars +52.7%, volume +62.6%.