With global consumption of alcohol declining, younger consumers are increasingly preferring cannabis instead.
This insight comes from Sally Lyons Wyatt, publisher at Chicago-based Circana. Wyatt spoke May 11 at CSP’s Cold Vault Forum in Lombard, Illinois.
During her presentation, Wyatt discussed the appeal of THC beverages among younger consumers, noting THC beverages contain fewer calories, less sugar and do not cause hangovers.
Wyatt said THC beverage growth is being driven largely by a significant increase in the number of items scanning across convenience and multi-outlet channels. Compared with a year ago, the category added 285 additional scanning items, Wyatt said, citing Circana data through April 26.
Wyatt said "fruit blend" ranked as the top THC beverage flavor type by dollar share. "Fruit blend" accounted for 19% of dollar sales growth compared to a year ago. Orange, lemon and pineapple ranked among the top THC beverage flavor types, placing second, third and fourth, respectively.
Dave Williams, president of Bump Williams Consulting, Shelton, Connecticut, who spoke May 13 at the forum, said THC beverages are generating high interest among consumers ages 18 and older.
Citing first-quarter Bump Williams Consulting data from 200 respondents ages 18 and older:
- 41% said they have never tried THC beverages and are not interested in trying them
- 31.5% said they have never tried THC beverages but are interested in trying them
- 24% said they have tried THC beverages and would try them again
- 3.5% said they have tried THC beverages but would not try them again
Mark Buonomo, senior category manager for beer, wine and spirits at Global Partners, said there is growing competition in the cold vault. That competition includes functional/lifestyle beverages, which includes non-alcohol beverages, adaptogens, nootropics and hemp-derived THC.
“The cold vault now is the home to many of these beverages; no longer just beer, no longer just seltzers,” Buonomo said. “We’ve seen what’s happened in the last five years.”