Cider and vodka are the fastest-growing alcoholic drinks around the world, according to Nielsen’s first global report on trends in alcoholic beverage consumption.
The report, which is based on grocery and mass merchandise retail sales in 53 markets and on-premise sales in 20 markets for 2006 and 2007, reveals cider is the fastest growing category, up 14 percent overall.
The U.K market, where cider is a billion-dollar category, has driven the growth with sales ahead by 26 percent. The Baltic markets of Lithuania and Latvia, with significantly smaller volume than the U.K., also showed dramatic year-on-year growth with sales up 44 percent and 42 percent respectively.
Vodka sales, meanwhile, grew by 11 percent overall, fuelled by several markets.
Russia, the largest market for vodka, experienced sales gains of 7 percent year-on-year, while Poland recorded a 17 percent sales rise. In western Europe, the U.K. and France were the primary drivers with sales increases of 11 percent and 13 percent respectively.
According to Nielsen, vodka is taking share from other spirits, including scotch and rum, in this region.
Total global alcoholic drinks consumption grew by 6 percent between 2006 and 2007, reports Nielsen. And, while Nielsen says there is an inflationary effect, there is also evidence of consumers trading up to more premium products.
“We are seeing a trend in certain markets, such as Russia and Poland, toward higher consumption of premium brands as consumers in those countries increase their spending power,” says Richard Hurst, Nielsen senior vice president, beverage alcohol.
“While some of the growth in the alcoholic beverage categories can certainly be attributed to price inflation, many emerging regions are becoming increasingly attractive to marketers of products in these categories, due their strong year-on-year performance.”
Pre-mixed alcoholic drinks have also sold well, up 7 percent overall but with wide variances across markets.
Australia was the largest contributor to growth, up 10 percent in a $2 billion market, followed by Japan up 28 percent in a $300 million market. Sales declined in the United States, U.K., France and Ireland.
Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) and Latin America are setting the pace for global growth in alcoholic drinks, adds Nielsen. These regions grew by 17 percent and 15 percent respectively.
Europe, North America and Asia Pacific posted more modest 4 percent gains.
Wine is growing on-premise in more markets than in retail, among the top retail sales markets that also track on-premise sales. Spirits, conversely, are growing faster in more retail markets than on-premise. Beer, the largest category worldwide, is growing equally in retail and on-premise markets.