Perhaps you’ve heard of “zebra striping.” It’s a trend where drinkers on a night out alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, like the alternating black and white stripes of a zebra. It’s also one of the contributing factors to the soaring popularity of mocktails and other non-alcoholic beverage options.
The beverage alcohol industry is at a complex crossroads. IWSR reports that most no-alcohol segments outstripped their parents in the United States in 2023, and the research organization predicts continued double-digit growth until 2028 for both no-alcohol beer and spirits, with no-alcohol wine making solid gains as well. Let’s examine how the industry has reached this point, and how data can help organizations navigate the changes.
State of the industry
Recently the United States surgeon general called for cautionary labels on alcoholic beverages to mention the risk of cancer, and said the federal government’s guidelines for how much alcohol Americans can safely drink should be reconsidered. That certainly caused many people to re-think their alcohol consumption, but the fact is the beverage alcohol industry was already experiencing a shift.
After a boom during the pandemic, the industry has come back down to earth. Data shows consistency among older drinkers, but the stat that concerns most people focused on beverage alcohol is how few younger drinkers there are. Studies, like this one from Gallup, show that young adults in the U.S. have become progressively less likely to drink alcohol over the past two decades. There have also been changes to the way people are drinking. In some cases, it might mean one premium drink over many different drinks on a night out.
No-alcohol follows alcohol’s lead
Zebra striping is one of many approaches people are taking to cut down on their alcohol intake or meet health and wellness goals without completely cutting out drinking. Different challenges such as Dry January or “one drink a month” also contribute to the overall decline in drinking. There are many reasons for abstention. Some cite economic factors, and people are simply spending less money on alcohol. For others, it’s a push to be healthier and drink less. The increase in alternatives to alcohol is also a factor, whether that’s cannabis or the non-alcoholic options that are becoming more plentiful. IWSR data shows the proportion of drinkers consuming no-alcohol products in the United States doubled in late 2023 to early 2024, going from 6% to 13%.
As it turns out, though, non-alcoholic beverages rely heavily on alcoholic beverages to show them the way. New low- and no-alcohol retailers rely on alcohol distributors to get their products where customers can find them, whether that is stores or restaurants. And big alcohol companies have either acquired some of these newer companies to bring no-alcohol products into their portfolio, or they have developed nonalcoholic versions of their own drinks.
What data can do for beverage alcohol companies
Zebra striping can also refer to the presentation of data – alternating colors in the lines of a spreadsheet, for example, to make the information more pleasing to the eye. It’s data that can help beverage alcohol organizations make sense of everything that is happening in their industry right now.
With up-to-the-minute sales information, companies can quickly react to market changes and make more informed decisions, whether that involves sales channels such as liquor stores versus convenience stores versus grocery stores, or what types of beverages restaurants are currently stocking.
Data can help organizations get creative. It could inform what stores keep in stock, but it can also influence how restaurants serve drinks. Some places have introduced nine-ounce pours rather than the traditional five ounces, while others have developed nonalcoholic cocktails that offer appealing alternatives to the alcoholic varieties at similar price points.
Organizations can use the data to keep tabs on their competitors, or they can track potential new markets and the opportunities that can develop from all of the changes the industry has been seeing. Analytics can help companies assess risks and weigh them against possible benefits, and it can also help develop the reports involved to meet regulatory standards.
It is important to have a flexible analytics solution that can make adjustments as the industry changes. The answer today may not be the answer tomorrow, and your solution needs to be able to provide the information that can help address current trends as well as predict and react to what will come down the line. A zebra may not change its stripes, but industry trends often do.
- Analytics Helps Higher Education Navigate an Uncertain Future - February 4, 2025
- Non-alcoholic Drinks: Disrupting Wine & Spirits Industry - January 28, 2025
- How Data Informs Supply Chain Strategies - January 23, 2025