GATED BUTTON
49.4%
Meat snacks
13.2%
Granola/
yogurt bars
UNIT VOLUME
32.5%
Health/ energy bars
UNIT VOLUME
4.9%
Other alternative snacks
UNIT VOLUME
10.15%
9.34%
9.20%
9.41%
9.56%
14%
0.8%
1.0%
0.5%
4.3%
20.23%
19.08%
19.02%
19.01%
19.10%
5.4%
1.7%
0.2%
3.0%
3.0%
Margin percentage
Share of in-store sales
Percent change in total unit volume
Percent change in total sales
Five-Year Trend: Beer & Malt Beverages
The 14-percent jump in total industry sales easily
marked a five-year high for the category; the previous
high was 4.3 percent growth in 2016.
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
1.09%
1.11%
1.10%
1.10%
1.11%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
35.91%
43.70%
44.09%
43.43%
43.41%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
8.4%
6.0%
1.4%
1.8%
2.8%
Other salty snacks
8.4%
UNIT VOLUME
Pretzels
3.1%
UNIT VOLUME
Popcorn (ready-to-eat)
3.7%
UNIT VOLUME
Mixed
4.3%
UNIT VOLUME
9.7%
Puffed
cheese
UNIT VOLUME
16.2%
Nuts/
Seeds
UNIT VOLUME
20.1%
Tortilla/
corn chips
UNIT VOLUME
Potato
chips
26.4%
UNIT VOLUME
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2.73%
2.74%
2.81%
2.85%
2.87%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
31.47%
36.60%
37.86%
38.30%
38.05%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
5.8%
4.4%
4.5%
2.9%
3.6%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
3.22%
3.19%
3.17%
3.13%
3.17%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
42.49%
47.00%
48.26%
48.62%
49.02%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
3.5%
2.8%
1.6%
0.1%
4.0%
Share of in-store sales
Margin percentage
Percent change in total sales
Click gray tabs to view
Five-Year Trend: Candy
Candy's total industry sales growth of 4 percent in 2019 was the category’s largest increase in the last five years.
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
3.22%
3.19%
3.17%
3.13%
3.17%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
42.49%
47.00%
48.26%
48.62%
49.02%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
3.5%
2.8%
1.6%
0.1%
4.0%
Novelties/
seasonal
3.2%
UNIT VOLUME
Candy rolls, mints, drops
4.5%
UNIT VOLUME
8.4%
Non-chocolate bars/packs
UNIT VOLUME
15.6%
Gum
UNIT VOLUME
24.7%
Chocolate bars/packs
UNIT VOLUME
Bagged/
repackaged peg candy
43.6%
UNIT VOLUME
The Consumer View
DIVING INTO THE DATA
DIVING INTO THE DATA
Just shy of one-third of c-store shoppers purchase cigarettes in an average month.
With the coronavirus pandemic first shutting down and then limiting the capacity of bars and restaurants last year, the beer and malt beverages category at convenience stores saw tremendous growth as consumers sought to enjoy their favorite alcoholic beverages at home. In this special “Deep Dive” report, a bonus supplement to the Convenience Store News 2021 Industry Report, we present exclusive data and analysis of the beer and malt beverages category at c-stores.
BEER & MALT BEVERAGES SNAPSHOT
2020
2020
% change
% change
6.6%
18.0%
60.1%
24.4%
1.2%
7.7%
16.4%
-2.6%
55.1%
14.9%
$65,488
$33,733
$20,067
$12,967
$11,182
$10,263
$8,172
$2,271
$113
$164,256
$9,833
$5,065
$3,013
$1,947
$1,679
$1,541
$1,227
$341
$17
$24,663
5.8%
17.1%
58.8%
23.4%
0.4%
6.8%
15.4%
-3.4%
54.5%
14.0%
average Sales per Store
Industry Total (in millions)
Premium
Imports
Flavored malt beverage
Super premium
Budget
Popular
Microbrews/craft
Malt liquor
Non-alcoholic
Total
The foam is back on the c-store beer/malt beverages category
with a massive 14 percent jump in industry sales for 2020.
Millennials
have the highest convenience-channel purchase rate of beer and malt beverages
at 44%. Gen Z and
Gen X shoppers
tie for second
at 33%.
Beer & Malt Beverage Purchase
Frequency Today vs. Pre-Pandemic
SPONSORED BY
9.2%
9.2%
12.8%
Hard seltzer has proven to be the most resilient segment within the entire alcoholic beverage industry.
Dollar Sales
Unit Volume
39.9%
20.5%
12.2%
7.9%
6.8%
6.2%
5.0%
1.4%
0.1%
36.8%
16.0% 18.7%
4.7%
8.2%
7.4%
4.2% 3.9%
0.1%
Premium
Imports
Flavored malt beverage
Super premium
Budget
Popular
Microbrews/craft
Malt liquor
Non-alcoholic
THE CONSUMER VIEW
More
Less
About the same
About the same
27%
51%
22%
After 10 years of sitting on its menthol report, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave notice that it will be taking steps to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes, and ban all characterizing flavors — including menthol — in cigars within the next year. Any regulations are sure to face legal challenges.
Lawmakers continue to level the playing field by applying existing tobacco regulations to electronic cigarettes and vapor products. The latest example is subjecting the segment to the same ID requirements as in-person sales. Late last year, Congress passed the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which applies the same safeguards already in place for traditional cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Subsequently, several federal legislators joined together to introduce the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in April. The bill would establish the first federal electronic cigarette tax, and increase the tobacco tax rate for the first time in a decade.
Lawmakers continue to level the playing field by applying existing tobacco regulations to electronic cigarettes and vapor products. The latest example is subjecting the segment to the same ID requirements as in-person sales. Late last year, Congress passed the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which applies the same safeguards already in place for traditional cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Subsequently, several federal legislators joined together to introduce the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in April. The bill would establish the first federal electronic cigarette tax, and increase the tobacco tax rate for the first time in a decade.
Lawmakers continue to level the playing field by applying existing tobacco regulations to electronic cigarettes and vapor products. The latest example is subjecting the segment to the same ID requirements as in-person sales. Late last year, Congress passed the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which applies the same safeguards already in place for traditional cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Subsequently, several federal legislators joined together to introduce the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in April. The bill would establish the first federal electronic cigarette tax, and increase the tobacco tax rate for the first time in a decade.
The Biden Administration is reportedly exploring the idea of requiring tobacco companies to lower nicotine to levels that are no longer addictive. The move would affect all cigarettes sold in the United States. Changes to traditional cigarettes would come at a time when sales are experiencing lower annual declines. Many industry insiders point to an increase in smoking as COVID-19-related closures saw more people working from home — where there aren’t smoking restrictions.
PRODUCED BY
Geloso Beverage Group – Top 100 Beverage Company, launched in 2002, exclusively serves
the continental U.S. market with Hot Brand award winning brands: Clubtails and Johny Bootlegger.
The beverages can be found in grocery, convenience, and liquor stores from coast to coast.
Known for innovating the flavored malt beverage category, the growth at GBG
continues to outperform major competitors.
SPONSORED BY
Maine is the latest state to consider banning all flavored tobacco product sales. California's ban is on hold as the issue waits to hit the ballot in the November 2022 general election, and Connecticut's General Assembly Finance Committee recently revised legislation to prohibit only the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes and vapor products, amending an original proposal to apply a ban to all flavored tobacco products. Such moves could be moot if the FDA moves forward with its plans.
Share by Segment
The top three segments — premium, imports and flavored malt beverages — combined to bring in almost three-quarters of total category sales in 2020.
Percentage of C-stores
That Sell Beer & Malt Beverages
Looking at only the three-quarters of U.S. convenience stores that sell beer
and malt beverages (rather than a total industry average),
per-store category sales increased by $28,067 in 2020.
More than a quarter of shoppers say they’re purchasing
beer and malt beverages more frequently at c-stores
today than they did before the pandemic.
Source: Convenience Store News Industry Report 2021
Source: Convenience Store News Industry Report 2021
Source: Convenience Store News Industry Report 2021
Source: IWSR
$218,425
13.49%
$190,358
12.20%
$187,226
12.40%
2
75.20%
10.15%
9.20%
\
75.1%
75.1%
9.34%
Percent of Stores Selling Percent of In-Store Sales
for stores selling:
2020
2019
2018
Average Sales Per Store Percent of In-Store Sales
Beer/malt beverages is among the top five categories that shoppers are buying more often today at c-stores than pre-pandemic. The other categories are health and beauty care, edible grocery, non-edible grocery, and cigarettes.
One million households in the U.S. bought hard seltzer for the first time in April 2021, and almost twice as many households bought hard seltzer in April than in an average month before then.
While almost all segments posted gains in 2020, the standout was flavored malt beverages with
a gigantic
Source: NielsenIQ
Comparing March and April 2020 with the same two months in 2019, hard seltzer buyers decreased their share of spending on
Source: Drizly
Source: NielsenIQ
Source: IWSR
Source: Bank of America Securities
rate compared with
the previous year.
Beverage industry experts anticipate
even more growth in the premixed cocktail category — revenue is forecasted to reach
Ready-to-drink cocktails is the fastest-growing alcohol segment. The premixed cocktail category grew by
The Consumer View
Alcoholic Beverages Purchased at a
Convenience Store in the Past Month
Across all of the alcoholic beverage segments, millennials and Generation X shoppers are more likely to have purchased the items at a c-store in the past month vs. baby boomers.
Where Shoppers Purchase
Beer & Malt Beverages in a Typical Month
Millennials have the highest convenience-channel purchase rate of beer and malt beverages at 44%. Gen Z and Gen X shoppers tie for second at 33%.
Source: Convenience Store News 2021 Realities of the Aisle Study
Beer
Malt Beverages
Liquor
20%
10%
9%
wine
9%
Source: Convenience Store News 2021 Realities of the Aisle Study
Dollar
6%
Drug
4%
Online
3%
Other
5%
30%
Convenience
23%
Grocery
19%
8%
Club
Specialty/
Natural
7%
Source: NielsenIQ
Source: Mintel
Source: Mintel
According to consumers, RTD cocktails outperform other alcoholic beverages in convenience,
flavor and refreshment.
“Retailers should expect RTD sales to rise as the weather warms, similarly if not more significantly than last year, and should stock their shelves accordingly. With the vaccine rollout in motion and COVID-19 cases falling, we expect to see even more outdoor socializing as we did last late spring and summer.”
— Liz Paquette, Drizly’s head of consumer insights
Mass
Source: NielsenIQ
Discount supermarket
6%
The United States is the largest
RTD (ready-to-drink) market
in the world by volume.
$120 million
2020
2019
2018
$3
60%
(15.7% sales)
(29.5% sales)
(25.6% sales)
jump in
per-store sales.
Since the week ending March 21, 2020, each week’s dollar sales of hard seltzer within the U.S. off-premise market has exceeded the week of July 4, 2019, which was previously the highest individual
week of sales.
The popularity of hard seltzer has given manufacturers from across the alcohol industry ample motivation to continue pushing the envelope —
with new hard offerings
and blends.
in U.S. off-premise sales in the 52
weeks ending June 13, 2020, while growing at a
127%
Hard seltzer
correlated
ready-to-drink
cocktails drove
in the United States
between 2019 and 2020.
$3-4 billion
over the next few years.
Because overall alcohol budgets are finite, hard seltzer poses a threat to traditional FMB and core beer options.
share points
5.6
share points
4
BEER
WINE
while spirits were relatively unaffected.
28 to 34
35 to 41
21 to 27
These age groups have all gained share of RTD sales:
6%
6%
50%
Source: IWSR
Younger consumers have caught on to the fact that RTD cocktails share many of the same benefits of hard seltzer.
Convenience is the foremost factor for why consumers choose RTD cocktails.
In the past 12 months,
RTD cocktail consumers have significantly shifted to a younger demographic.
An area in need of improvement is
perceived value.
