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Mintel: Alcoholic beverages may be missing an opportunity with UK consumers

Published:  08 June, 2016

According to a new Mintel report released today, Brits are spending more on experiences and food related purchases as consumer spending habits change as part of the 'two-track recovery', providing a great opportunity for the wine category.

According to a new Mintel report released today Brits are spending more on experiences and food related purchases as consumer spending habits change as part of the 'two-track recovery', providing a great opportunity for the wine category.

The research shows that over a third (38%) of households with income of £50,00 or more said that feel that they are better off than they were a year ago.

"Britain's economic growth over the last few years has outstripped many other major economies, and wages have been rising above inflation. Whilst there has not been a big improvement in overall consumer confidence, better-off Britons are clearly pulling away from the rest. Higher earners feel more confident about their finances and show more willingness to spend across more indulgent categories, such as leisure, holidays and foodservice," said Ina Mitskavets, senior consumer and lifestyle analyst at Mintel.

Mintel Lifestyle Report 2016Mintel Lifestyle Report 2016

One big opportunity for the wine category may be with the success of premium food trends both in the on and off-trade.  Three in 10 consumers are now cooking from scratch at home more than they were a year ago. Equally the foods service market saw a rise of 3.5% in 2015 reaching an estimated value of £36 billion with over half (57%) of diners saying they like to experience new flavours.

The wine category as whole is benefiting from the premiumisation trend, but they are also buying less wine overall. The growth in expenditure in UK in 2015 for alcoholic drinks was up 0.5%.

According to the report 28% are spending less on alcoholic drinks out of home and 22% are doing the same with at-home spend. "This is reflected in the market's performance in recent years- while volume growth has largely stagnated, value sales continued to rise, reaching £43 billion in 2015," according to the report.

Consumers are willing to spend more on experiences now than in the past and they are willing to pay a premium for new experiences, which could be an opportunity for both the on-trade and at home wine sales.

Beer has been able to benefit from this new trend with around one in six Brits buying craft lager in the three months leading up to November 2015.

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