Page 44 - Beverage MasterAprMay 2021

Craft Beverage News

2021 BEVERAGE TRENDS

By: Tracey L. Kelley

N o producer wants to feel like their busi- selections and receive their purchases within 60

minutes. Many local producers also have access to
ness is simply dictated by trends and not
backed by individual vision and a solid
DoorDash and other delivery services, regulations
plan. However, if 2020 taught us anything, it’s to be permitting. “Ghost bars” — extensions of virtual
strategic, targeted and, most of all, flexible. or cloud bars or restaurants often accessed only
through third-party delivery services — also saw an
To understand what consumers want in 2021 and increase in consumer interest as producers found
beyond, Beverage Master Magazine gathered some new ways to lower overhead but expand product
trend data and talked with Holly McHugh, market- offerings and brand awareness.
ing associate for Imbibe, a beverage development
company focused on the formulation, customiza- Do-it-yourself kits, mixology classes, premium bar
tion and commercialization of cutting-edge bever- selections, unusual or over-the-top experimental
age products that provide a “bolt-on R&D function” selections and other experienced-based offerings
for companies without R&D or that need to expand continue to drive consumer interest in 2021. They
in this area. also still desire personal connections with makers.

So—What’s New? Non-standard Products Continue to Rise

Taking stock of the past year and establishing Hard seltzer, cider, tea, kombucha and beer tap
aspects of revision is still a personal and profession- into consumers’ desire to balance healthy libations
al journey. Still, maybe some of these indicators will with beverage-driven exploration.
resonate as either extensions of current practices
or sparks of innovation. For example, pandemic purchases of hard selt-
zer, in particular, rose significantly in 2020, moving
People are Eager for beyond previous limitations of seasonality, and
To-go and Online Options there’s no stopping point yet. Nielsen reported that
“Hard seltzer-correlated ready-to-drink cocktails
“The pandemic changed the way we shop, social- drove $120 million in U.S. off-premise sales in the
ize, entertain and more,” McHugh said. “This cre- 52-week period ending June 2020, while growing
ated a need for CPG (consumer packaged goods) at a 127% rate compared with the previous year.”
brands to offer products that provide an escape That growth, Nielsen states, “opened the doors
from the mundane but can be enjoyed at home.” to an even broader array of new and bolder fla-
vor options accompanying the base liquid, and it’s
In December 2020, Forbes reported that “total allowing manufacturers to expand the limits of
eCommerce penetration experienced 10 years of what ‘hard seltzer’ means.”
growth March through May 2020.” It cited research
from IWSR that stressed “online sales of alcohol in Zero-proof spirits, especially those enhanced with
the U.S. alone are expected to grow by more than adaptogens – herbal substances that promote well-
80%” in 2021. The IWSR analysis indicated that ness – botanicals and CBD also have growth poten-
“beverage alcohol eCommerce value grew by 42% tial.
in 2020,” and the forecast is that the U.S. will over-
take China “as the world’s largest beverage alcohol As regulations shift, CBD- and even THC-infused
e-Commerce market by the end of 2021.” products are positioned for a meteoric rise, accord-
ing to a 2020 report by Grant View Research. “The
Quite simply, customers are fond of the conve- global cannabis beverages market size is expected
nience and expanse of options online ordering pro- to reach USD 2.8 Billion by 2025 at a CAGR (com-
vides. In major and secondary market areas, con- pounded annual growth rate) of 17.8 percent.”
sumers use platforms like Drizly to browse various While some consumers might opt for THC’s “thera-

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