Mindful drinking has become the latest trend, as reflected in the latest Stats NZ beer, wine and spirits consumption data.
The recent Stats NZ beer, wine and spirits consumption has declined to the lowest level since data was first collected and supports a seismic cultural shift towards “mindful drinking”.
NielsenIQ (US) attributed the rise in non-alcoholic sales to the mindful drinking trend. To be a mindful drinker, you must be aware of how much alcohol you are consuming and when you may be consuming too much.
“The consumer trend towards moderation is very real, with more focus on health and wellness”, said NZABC executive director Virginia Nicholls.
“Beer, wine and spirits have responded to this trend by offering a wider range of low and no alcohol options. This innovation reflects our commitment to supporting responsible drinking.”
A poll of 1,000 New Zealanders in October 2024 found 55 percent (up from 49 percent in 2021) of respondents drinking low-alcohol beverages at least some of the time, and some of us prefer low alcohol beverages.
According to Stats NZ our beer, wine and spirits consumption per head of population is at an all-time low declining in the past year by five percent to 7.8 litres which follows a 12 percent decline in 2022.
The Stats NZ beer, wine and spirits consumption per capita has also declined more than 30 percent since 1986.
Wine fell by 4.1 percent to 95 million litres in the past year, spirits by 5.5 percent to 92 million litres, and beer by 5.4 percent to 296 million litres.
In addition to the volume of wine and beer produced in NZ, there was a total of 241 million litres of wine exported and 20 million litres of beer in 2024.
“We are seeing consumers drinking less and drinking better with the move to moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle”, said Nicholls.
The NZ Health survey provides information on New Zealander’s health and wellbeing shows that 83.4 percent of NZ adults (more than four out of five of us) are drinking beer, wine and spirits responsibly. This is an increase of 4.7 percentage points over the past four years (78.7 percent 2019/20).
Hazardous drinking or harmful alcohol consumption among adults over the past four years has declined to 16.6 percent (21.3 percent 2019/20).
The volume of beer, wine and spirits standard drinks per person aged 18 years and over, fell 4.9 percent to 1.77 standard drinks per person per day.
This indicates that most consumers are drinking within the Health NZs low-risk drinking advice. For women this is drinking no more than two standard drinks a day, and three standard drinks a day for men, with at least two alcohol free days each week. A standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol.
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