Health and Other Concerns Will Push Wine Drinking Up, But It's Bottoms Down for Beer by 2011.

PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 01, 2007 – Report Buyer, the online destination for business intelligence for major industry sectors, has added a new report which forecasts that results for alcohol consumption in the UK will be largely listless, with wine consumption being the sole exception in the next five years.

“Consumers' Alcoholic Drinks Preferences: New Trends and Future Perspectives” says that beer sales in Europe are likely to slump, the sale of spirits remain stagnant and only wine sales are expected to rise.

The report projects that consumption of beer is set to decrease  to 93 litres per person in Europe and 114 litres in the US by 2011, with spirits set to remain largely unchanged at about 5 litres per person in Europe and 7 litres in the US.  Wine is the only category where consumption is forecast to increase, to 37 litres per person in 2011.

One of the few triumphs of the alcohol industry has been the sale of wine which has consistently risen. From 2001-2006 the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in Europe was 2.9%, and in the U. S  it was 1.4%.

The report points out  that the development of ‘megabrand’ products like Jacob’s Creek and  Nottage Hill have contributed to the wine success story, but that these brands have been a mixed blessing. They have influenced wine drinkers to buy products at supermarkets on the basis of value for money. This practice has effectively curtailed the price growth potential of wine, and dimmed the enthusiasm for expensive and specialist wines, says the report.

Authors of the report note that the consumption of alcohol is affected by people moderating their intake due to health issues as well as changes in people’s drink preferences. A significant factor relating to consumers selecting a drink is the shift in the demographic population in Western countries towards an increased older population. This population traditionally prefers mature drinks like wine and spirits, and so the consumer base of drinks like beer, which is seen as a younger person’s drink, is actually reducing, says the report. Typically, in the UK per capita beer consumption is highest among young adults and declines with age.  

Beer has the largest market share of alcoholic drink in terms of volume, but has increasingly been dominated by wine in many European countries. It’s perceived as a man’s drink with male consumers outnumbering their female counterparts by a three to one ratio, suggesting that manufacturers should target women customers in order to boost sales. The CAGR for beer consumption from 2001-2006 was -0.2% in Europe and 0 in the U.S.

Analysts say that the smoking ban which came into effect on 1st July 2007 in the UK  is also expected to play its part in decreased alcohol consumption. They say smokers will be deterred by the thought of smoking outside pubs in the winter, and are more likely to limit their trips to the local.

 “Consumers' Alcoholic Drinks Preferences: New Trends and Future Perspectives” is available from Report Buyer. For more information go to: http://www.reportbuyer.com/food_drink/alcoholic_drinks/c ...

Report Buyer product ID: DAT06306