Data

Halloween is officially logged in bev-alc scan data and there’s no reason to be afraid, Circana EVP of BevAl Scott Scanlon wrote. During the week ending November 2, total beverage-alcohol dollar sales declined 2.3% year-over-year (YoY), but increased 4% week-over-week (WoW).

Beverage-alcohol “is on the chopping block” for consumers this Thanksgiving, with more than a third of consumers planning to not purchase alcoholic beverages at all, according to market research firm NIQ.

Consumers are increasingly concerned about “managing health and wellness” and it is “drastically” changing beverage trends across bev-alc and non-alc (NA), according to a new report from Circana and the market research firm’s EVP of BevAl Scott Scanlon.

New entrants on bev-alc shelves have been a bit lackluster this year in terms of the sheer number of new items, and how much they are contributing to overall sales, and the impact of those “underwhelming” trends could bleed into 2026 and beyond, according to Bump Williams Consulting’s (BWC) Bump Williams in the firm’s latest monthly report.

Ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails are now a regular part of drinkers’ routines, with consumption frequency picking up and stealing the most share from beer, especially in the summer.

There may be signs of stabilization for the beer industry. September domestic tax paid shipments increased 1% year-over-year (YoY), to an estimated 12.2 million barrels, up from 12.08 million barrels in September 2024 (+116,375 barrels), the Beer Institute (BI) reported today, citing estimates from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

The latest weekly beverage-alcohol scan data report from market research firm Circana carried a content warning for “ugly comps.” “This week’s data needs to come with advanced warning to prepare for impact,” Circana EVP of BevAl Scott Scanlon wrote.

Wholesalers’ tepidness toward the beer category continued in October, according to the latest Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

Consumers’ on-premise spending may be strong, but volumes of draft beer and packaged goods declined at bars and restaurants during Q3, according to on-premise insights firm BeerBoard. Draft beer volume declined 1.8% between July 1 and September 30 year-over-year (YoY). Cans and bottles fared even worse, dropping 5.1% compared to Q3 2024.

One constant in beverage-alcohol’s rollercoaster 2025 has been growth in the spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail segment. Spirits and cider sales stayed broadly stable in the two-week period ending October 18, while trends for flavored malt beverages (FMB) and seltzer worsened, according to analysis of NIQ data from Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

This month’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) once again showed the bev-alc industry that pricing power remains in the on-premise, with price increases away from home far outweighing at-home raises and overall inflation. So which brands are poised to take advantage?

Beer price increases in bars and restaurants outpaced overall inflation in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Consumer Price Index.

Beverage-alcohol’s off-premise declines eased a bit in the one-week period ending October 19, buoyed by the beer category’s growth brands, according to the latest weekly report from market research firm Circana.

Consumers wallets are feeling the strain, but it’s not stopping them from spending in on-premise retailers, National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) chief economist and VP of analytics Lester Jones shared during a webinar Thursday.