CHICAGO — Volume sales of beer may have returned to growth, but grocery stores are losing category share to club, dollar and drug channels, said Dan Wandel, senior vice president of Beverage Alcohol Client Insights for SymphonyIRI Group during a Mid-Year Review of the Beer Category webinar Thursday.
“Beer is following in line with the macro trend of losing share to other channels but then you look at premixed cocktails and coolers and they’re up significantly in grocery,” Wandel said.
For the fourth straight year, wine is outpacing beer in supermarkets. “It is not unusual for wine and spirits to outpace beer in the supermarket channel, but one thing that is unique is spirit sales are outpacing those of wine by a significant sales trend,” he said.
Read more: Message on a Bottle: 'Fantastic' Wines
New package types like pouches of premixed cocktails and coolers are helping lead the charge, while craft brewers are turning to a more traditional vessel.
"Cans of craft beer are poised to explode on the scene this year with sales more than doubling," Wandel said.
Read more: Craft Beer: Top of the Hops
He also reported:
- Private-label beer is on track to achieve a second consecutive year of record sales.
- Craft beers are growing at a double digit pace again this year, with sales up across all channels tracked by SymphonyIRI.
- Indian pale ale has surpassed seasonals to become the top-selling craft style.
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