Overall bev-alc inflation continued to grow in May, but appears to be easing for the majority of the industry, except for spirits.
Spirits led bev-alc inflation both at home and away from home in May, marking the second consecutive month the category outpaced all sectors of bev-alc, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
The category outpaced total bev-alc, which increased 1.5% year-over-year (YoY) and declined 0.1% month-over-month (MoM), without seasonal adjustment.
Total bev-alc at home increased 0.2% YoY and declined 0.4% MoM. Meanwhile, the CPI for spirits at home was up 1.9% compared to May 2024 on a seasonally unadjusted basis, more than twice the increase recorded by beer at home (+0.6%). Wine was the only bev-alc category to decline at home (-0.9%).
All three categories were down MoM at home, before seasonal adjustment: spirits -0.4%, beer -0.4%, wine -0.5%.
Inflation was higher across the board for bev-alc at home, led once again by spirits (+3.7% YoY), followed by beer (+3.1%) and wine (+2.3%). Total bev-alc away from home was also up 3.1%.
Total bev-alc (+0.2%), beer (+0.4%) and wine (+0.2%) at home were all up MoM without seasonal adjustment. Spirits away from home was down 0.2% MoM.
Total bev-alc’s overall CPI reading was below overall inflation, which increased 2.4% YoY, before seasonal adjustment. When seasonally adjusted, the CPI for all items was up 0.1% both YoY and MoM.
Spirit’s inflationary hurdles don’t appear to be impacting the category’s overall sales trends yet, thanks mainly to ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails. Spirits is the only category – including base-agnostic RTDs – to record YoY growth in Circana-tracked off-premise channels in the last four weeks (L4W), ending June 1. The category recorded a 1.5% increase in dollar sales and 3.6% in volume (case sales) in the period.
Meanwhile, wine led declines (dollar sales -4.9%, volume -5.6%), followed by beer (dollar sales -4.1%, volume -5.5%) and beer-, wine- and spirits-based RTDs (dollar sales -0.9%, volume -5.9%). Total bev-alc dollar sales were down 3.3% YoY in the L4W, while bev-alc volume declined 5.1%.
When diving deeper into spirits’ figures, only three segments recorded dollar sales growth in the L4W: cordials (dollar sales +3.4%, volume +4.8%); non-alcoholic mixers (+0.3%); and premixed cocktails, or RTDs (dollar sales +29.4%, volume +33.1%).
Within beer-, wine- and spirits-based RTDs, spirits-based offerings are the primary growth drivers, with pre-mixed single-serve cocktails (dollar sales +36.3%, volume +37.6%) and pre-mixed multi-serve cocktails (dollar sales +17.1%, volume +18.1%) recording the largest gains in the last 52 weeks (ending June 1), well above any other RTD segment.
The only other RTD segments to record YoY growth in the L52W include:
- Spirits-based hard seltzer (dollar sales +5.1%, volume +2.9%);
- Hard tea/lemonade (dollar sales +2.1%, volume +0.5%);
- And “all other” flavored adult beverages (dollar sales +3.6%, volume +2%).