James Smart, Global Strategic Insight & Planning Team - Bord Bia - Irish Food Board
It is no secret that consumers are beginning to take more control of their health and wellbeing. 72% of consumers say they are trying to lose or maintain their current weight while 42% of consumers globally say that they proactively seek products that can improve their health (Globaldata, 2018). Bord Bia has recognised the impact of this shift by establishing “Health and Wellness” as one of its five Consumer Lifestyle Trends (Bord Bia, 2018). This trend is driven by growing digital connectivity, the redefining of old age, and the rise of lifestyle diseases. These pressures have resulted in the collective rediscovery of the natural amongst consumers resulting in 66% of people buying natural food/drink products (Globaldata, 2018). The demand for natural ingredients amongst consumers has significantly impacted the alcoholic beverage market.
Beer:
Beer has been identified as the most established category with health-oriented positioning. Terms such as “low-calorie”, “low-alcohol”, and “light” have come to dominate the labels of different brand portfolios. In addition, the development of non-alcoholic brewed and malt drinks by breweries has grown significantly in recent years. In fact, 41% of global consumers find non-alcoholic beverages with the claim “brewed” or “malt” as appealing (Globaldata, 2018). Have you reviewed your portfolio to consider developing non-alcoholic or lower calorie variations of your current market offerings?
Wine and Spirits:
The wine and spirits industry has been less influenced by the return to the natural than beer. However, this is beginning to change as many new health-oriented offerings, such as vegan and organic drinks, have been introduced. Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer is an excellent example of this shift. The beverage is a zero sugar, low calorie drink that is free of artificial sweeteners and preservatives and made with natural flavours. As a result of the rise of such claims, naturalness has become an indicator of “awareness over ingredient processing and artificial ingredients” on alcoholic beverages. In fact it has been reported that 60% of American consumers claim that they interpret the word natural on packaging as signifying the product as being healthy (Globaldata, 2018).
If your brands are made with natural flavours are you clearly communicating this to consumers? If you’re not currently catering to consumer needs in this space, how can you reformulate/innovate to eliminate artificial flavours?
Implications for Irish suppliers:
The effort of alcohol manufacturers to respond to the concern that alcoholic beverages lead to health implications such as weight gain has resulted in the creation of new categories of low calorie and natural drinks.
These new categories have also been heavily influenced by consumers’ desires for low- or no-alcohol products. In fact, 22% of consumers are actively trying to reduce their consumption of alcohol while only 4% of consumers are actively trying to increase their consumption (Global Data, 2018). Therefore, Irish alcohol manufacturers should carefully consider how their innovation pipeline can adapt to this changing landscape by providing customers with the “sophisticated” and social atmosphere provided by traditional alcohols without their perceived negative effects.
Sources:
Bord Bia. (2019). Health and Wellbeing. Retrieved from https://www.bordbiaconsumerlifestyletrends.ie/trends/health-wellbeing/
Mills, Jamie. (2018). TrendSights Overview: Health and Wellness: Taking Responsibility for personal health and wellbeing. Retrieved from www.globaldata.com