Southern Glazer’s Identifies Five Growth Areas in Shifting Beverage Alcohol Market — Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits, LLC

Event summary

Southern Glazer’s released its inaugural Raise the Bar: H2 2026 Edition report, highlighting five growth opportunities in the beverage alcohol sector.
The report indicates that consumers are changing how they engage with beverage alcohol, with growth in RTDs, wine cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, tequila, smaller formats, and premium offerings.
Gen Z is emerging as a key growth cohort, over-indexing in spirits and RTDs while increasing wine spend.
Spirits RTDs drive 94% of total spirits volume growth, while cocktails account for 92% of total wine growth.
Southern Glazer’s combines third-party industry data with its own depletion, distribution, and execution data to provide insights.

The big picture

Southern Glazer’s report underscores a structural reset in the beverage alcohol market, where consumers are becoming more intentional and selective. The company’s insights suggest that growth opportunities lie in understanding and catering to evolving consumer behaviors, particularly among younger demographics and through innovative formats. With a comprehensive data-driven approach, Southern Glazer’s aims to help suppliers and customers navigate this transition and capitalize on emerging trends.

What we're watching

Gen Z Engagement: How Southern Glazer’s will leverage Gen Z’s preference for spirits and RTDs to drive long-term growth.
Format Innovation: Whether the shift towards smaller formats and premium offerings can sustain growth amid economic uncertainty.
Occasion-Based Marketing: The pace at which brands adapt to changing consumer occasions, particularly in the on-premise sector.