Data

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for beer remained above 2022 levels in July, but is decelerating, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

In this latest installment of 3 Up, 3 Down, 3 Tier product team consultant Stephanie Roatis shares a trio of insights on industry growth and three underperforming areas through the halfway point of 2023. Roatis examines the growing number of non-alcoholic beer products, FMBs growing share of ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings, and the surge in imperial ciders. She also offers analysis of craft’s declining shelf presence, liquor channel struggles and more.

Domestic tax paid shipments for the first half of 2023 declined -5.9% year-over-year (YoY), to nearly 77.16 million barrels, according to estimates from the Beer Institute through June.

Ready-to-drink and serve products have surpassed $10 billion dollar sales in off-premise channels in the latest 52 weeks ending July 8, representing a 7% increase compared to the previous period, according to an NIQ report released on Wednesday.

Industry members should “expect to see an increase in ‘change’” during fall shelf resets versus “what you have seen in the past,” Bump Williams, president and CEO of Bump Williams Consulting (BWC), wrote in the company’s “Monthly Update.”

The sales declines of Bud Light amid a conservative-led boycott led to double-digit declines in revenue, shipments and depletions in the U.S. during the second quarter for Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B).

Craft beer off-premise dollar sales in the last four weeks (ending July 16) increased +1.2% versus the same period in 2022, according to market research firm Circana in its monthly beer report.

On-premise traffic patterns have remained consistent since March, according to CGA, NIQ’s on-premise market research firm.

More than 55 million oz. of beer, wine, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails and more were served from iPourIt self-serve walls in 2022, according to the beverage technology company’s “Annual Pour Report.”

The National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) for July marked the second consecutive month of positive ordering trends for a majority of segments, including a 14-point jump for premium regular (50 reading).

While bev-alc has been plagued with demands for “new, new, new” at an accelerated pace in recent years, distributors are concerned that “recent innovation is not disciplined,” according to the latest Tamarron Consulting survey.

Total bev-alc sales in off-premise channels (multi-outlet plus convenience) declined -4% week-over-week (WoW) in the week ending July 9, which included the July 4 holiday, according to Circana analyst Scott Scanlon.

The July 4 holiday had an even stronger impact on on-premise sales this year, driving double-digit velocity growth throughout the week, according to CGA, a NIQ on-premise market research firm.

Convenience store retailers had a “slightly more pessimistic outlook” for beer trends in Goldman Sachs’ Q2 Beverage Bytes survey, citing “broader economic pressures/fears of recession, impacts from cooler weather” and the continued “negative impacts from the recent Bud Light controversy.”