Sea Cider
Millennials, born from 1981 to 1996, are drinking less than older generations. Their younger sister cohort Gen Z is drinking even less than millennials.
The future of any business is in attracting younger customers, but when it comes to alcohol, understanding trends can be rather confusing at best, and downright frustrating at worst.
Sober-curious, but social and interested in new options, millennials and Gen Z can be hard to understand when it comes to alcohol consumption.
Millennials, born from 1981 to 1996, drink less than older generations. Gen Z, born in the late 1990s to the early 2010s, are drinking even less than millennials.
Why? There are a range of reasons.
The behavioural research firm Veylinx reported in late 2022 that more than half of Americans are trying to reduce alcohol consumption. The same behaviours can often be extrapolated to Canadians as those north of the 49th parallel are often more health conscious than their southern neighbours.
Frank Pikul of the Cassidy Inn Liquor Store in Maple Ridge has seen a number of requests for lower or no alcohol options recently.
Pikul, find his patrons in their 30s “a bit more health conscious of what they’re putting in their body. They may want to reduce alcohol consumption to some capacity.”
The Veylinx study also found that more than three-quarters of respondents had stopped drinking for a month or more in the past and that those who drink alcohol are willing to pay more for non-alcoholic beverages than non-drinkers. Those who want to cut back on their alcohol consumption are also willing to pay more for non-alcoholic canned cocktails.
Many people are skipping wine or mixed drinks at family functions, even though drinking alcoholic beverages used to be a given, says Pikul.
As people age, parents don’t look at their adult children as drinkers, and children follow suit.
He sees more people perusing the experience of alcohol consumption as an activity enjoyed with friends that include a range of things to do. It isn’t just about drinking, and it’s no longer an expectation.
Low alcohol beverages
For younger generations, whatever an individual is comfortable with is acceptable when it comes to alcohol. It’s more about time spent together.
In 2022, Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse in Saanichton on Vancouver Island launched its line of Temperance ciders. According to Mariel Belmont, sales and marketing specialist, while the launch wasn’t geared to meet demands of younger customers necessarily, the products have been well received.
“We started with one sparkling juice but thanks to the high demand, we continue to expand this line,” she says. “We recently launched our fifth SKU: Temperance Ava. It provides an option for everyone, offering an alternative for people that prefer to not drink for diverse reasons.”
Additionally, it gives the ciderhouse a family-friendly option for young guests and an option for friends who don’t want the alcohol but want the experience.
“From the business point of view, our Temperance line has allowed us to enter a new market by having access to grocery stores across B.C. and Alberta as well as liquor stores that continue to expand their non-alcoholic offering to keep up with an increasing market trend,” she says.
Alcohol producers also need to compete with cannabis, with it being readily available in Canada now. Those in Gen Z are the most aware of having more options than alcohol.
According to Mintel’s 2023 sober curious report, Gen Z skips alcohol to avoid the “hang-xiety”, to feel better about themselves, and to save money.
The same report notes that targeting non-alcoholic options like spirits, mixed drinks or wines will appeal to these reduced-alcohol consumers. There may also be an opening to create non-alcoholic beverages with added benefits like calming or anxiety reduction through functional additives.
Sea Cider
Sea Cider Farm has launched a line of Temperance ciders.
Finally, the report notes this group is interested in the quality of the drink over quantity, so when it comes to drinking alcohol, having a special aspect like colour, visual appeal or other specialty features, will create consumption.
Given Pikul’s anecdotal input, it would be logical to add experience creation to this list. Alcohol producers that offer on-site events suitable for non-alcohol drinkers are going to come out further ahead.
“We had been talking about growing our production of non-alcoholic juice for years and it seemed like the right time to expand production to a health-focused series,” says Belmont of the Temperance line coming out when it did.
On-site sales and restaurant sales of the product had been cut significantly due to the pandemic, so with health at top-of-mind for many consumers, the alternative hit a sweet spot for many.
To attract the younger generations, alcohol producers need to consider customers who want options and that will include not drinking alcohol. Creating an experience around the brand and options for everyone will open the doors to opportunities when people feel like drinking and when they don’t.