13 Aug 2020 Collapse of on-trade brings new opportunities in the global drinks market

In this new webinar ‘Global Drinks Trends After Coronavirus’, Euromonitor International’s experts discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the global on-trade beverages industry, new opportunities to reach consumers at home, and reimagining premiumisation as disposal income declines.

Key findings from the webinar include:

• Global on-trade beverages sales – including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks – have seen a sudden decline since March 2020 and are expected to further decline in 2020.
• Bringing social occasions indoors drives the rise of ‘hometainment’. In-home devices such as home brewing devices and coffee machines will offer drinks companies a path to better personalisation and data, but also faster innovation.
• Immune support drinks will likely emerge as a new growth area in the beverages market as consumers’ health routines and priorities are revaluated after COVID-19.
• Consumer demands for value will become more strident. As more activities move into homes, the idea of premiumisation in drinks is likely to shift. Consumers spend less on some of the premium products that are likely to be consumed outside of the home.

“Despite claims that alcoholic drinks are ‘recession-proof’, the industry will inevitably be challenged, changed and, ultimately will evolve during the pandemic, resulting in a severe global downturn,” says Spiros Malandrakis, Head of Alcoholic Drinks at Euromonitor International.

“The timeline for global beverages’ recovery is very uncertain today and looking back at the 2008-2009 recession, it may not recover to the 2019 levels over the next five years.

“Under COVID-19, the beverage industry may not actually be recession-proof but definitely is or can be pandemic adaptable”.

To learn more, download the webinar here: ‘Global Drinks Trends After Coronavirus’.