USA | Millennials have driven the demand for no-alcohol gains across the US, according to new research comparing generational trends.
Millennials are the key drivers of no-alcohol growth in the US, consuming no-alcohol products with greater frequency than other age cohorts and displaying a keenness to explore the category through trial.
Latest data from IWSR Bevtrac consumer research showed that 13 percent of US drinkers said they consumed both full-strength and no-alcohol products in April 2024, up from seven percent a year earlier. Amongst Millennials, the participation rate was 22 percent – well ahead of Gen Z (15 percent) and Gen X (11 percent).
“The no-alcohol category as a whole is gaining popularity amongst drinkers in the US, with participation rates doubling since April 2023 – and much of this increase is being driven by Millennials,” explained Nastya Timofeeva, Bevtrac Senior Insights Manager, IWSR.
Greater product availability, especially in retail, has boosted the momentum of the no-alcohol category in general: no-alcohol volumes grew 20 percent in 2023, with a forecast volume CAGR of +17 percent, 2023 to 2028.
The dominance of Millennials in driving increased no-alcohol consumption continues to grow. In April 2023, 45 percent of no-alcohol beer consumers in the US were Millennials; by April 2024, that figure had risen to 61 percent, far ahead of Gen X at 22 percent and legal-aged Gen Z at only seven percent. Similar participation rates are reported for no-alcohol spirits (66 percent of consumers are Millennials) and no-alcohol wine (59 percent).
There are three key reasons Millennials are the age cohort boosting the no-alcohol segment.
Millennials in the US are the age cohort that currently displays the most significant positive shifts in their financial sentiment. As a result, they are going out and socialising more, both factors which help to drive increased consumption and exploration of the no-alcohol category, as well as the broader alcohol market.
“Millennials also skew to heavier usage of beverage alcohol in general, when compared to the overall drinker population in the US, and are the only cohort with a wider repertoire in 2024 vs 2023,” said Timofeeva.
“So, when they do moderate their alcohol consumption, they are doing so from a high level. The fact that Millennial no-alcohol buyers are more likely to be frequent alcohol consumers highlights an overlap between no-alcohol and full-strength alcohol consumers.”
Millennials over-index in terms of their participation in a number of full-strength categories in the US, including total spirits, whisky, RTDs, rum, brandy/Cognac and Champagne.
Almost half of Millennial no-alcohol consumers are classed as ‘substituters’ – in other words, those who drink no-alcohol products on some occasions, and full-strength on others – and they are also disproportionately frequent no-alcohol consumers, accounting for 51 percent of ‘frequent’ no-alcohol consumers in the US, and 47 percent of ‘consistent’ consumers.
Most no-alcohol consumers turn to the category for lifestyle or functional reasons; younger cohorts are more active in the Dry January movement, which is also likely to fuel trial.
Some 31 percent of Millennial consumers abstain from beverage alcohol for a month or more due to lifestyle reasons, compared to 21 percent of the entire drinker population in the US, according to IWSR consumer data.
More news here.
