As a distinguished leader in the beverage alcohol wholesale community, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, Miami and Dallas, understands the importance in remaining tapped into the trends driving consumers’ path to purchase. As the company leverages data to monitor the current market, it also is anticipating the next must-have trend.

“The success of our industry, at every tier, has always depended on recognizing and adapting to the ‘next big thing,’” says Wayne E. Chaplin, president and CEO at Southern Glazer’s. “At Southern Glazer’s, we have a proud history of looking beyond the present, never resting on our laurels, and helping drive the future of our industry.”

When it comes to flavor profiles, Chaplin highlights that bolder profiles are rising to the top with premiumization still driving the market.

“We’re seeing strong consumer demand for bold, globally inspired flavors, especially Mexican-influenced profiles like tajin, chamoy and mango chili,” Chaplin says. “These sweet-and-spicy combinations are particularly popular among younger LDA consumers looking for more adventurous taste experiences. At the same time, while people may be drinking slightly less, they’re drinking better. There’s growing interest in premium offerings and functional alcoholic beverages that align with wellness-minded lifestyles.”

Within the wine market, Chaplin cites Prosecco as a category standout, but says that Prosecco Rose is contributing to incremental growth within the sparkling segment.

“Wine-based cocktails also continue to resonate, offering flavor-forward, lower-ABV options that meet consumers where they are,” he adds.

In line with data sets from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) and Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), Chaplin notes that tequila and ready-to-drink (RTD) products are driving the spirits market.

But whether it’s wine or spirits, Chaplin explains that it is products that deliver high quality and accessible price points that are lifting the market.

“Innovation remains a key growth driver across the board, with new flavor profiles, creative formats, and non-alcoholic options expanding the category and attracting new consumers,” he says.

Building out its wine and spirits legacy

Southern Glazer’s heritage within the wine and spirits market is exemplified by its strong leadership.

Mark Chaplin, president of commercial sales at Southern Glazer’s, notes that the company’s legacy within wine can be attributed to Mel Dick, a person whom he describes as a true pioneer in shaping not only wine within Southern Glazer’s, but the global market.

“For more than five decades, Mel’s leadership, innovation and deep knowledge of wine have set the standard for excellence, inspiring generations of leaders and advancing the category in remarkable ways,” he says.

As Southern Glazer’s looks to build on these decades of leadership within the wine market, Mark Chaplin highlights the importance of evolving with consumer preferences toward intentional consumption and wellness.

“As price sensitivity grows due to inflation and income disparity, consumers are seeking better value in brands, opening the door for the wine industry to innovate through new offerings (from packaging to liquid), embracing health-conscious trends with low-alc and organic options, while expanding wine relevancy across different drinking occasions,” he says. “Positioning wine as a versatile, approachable drink that fits into everyday occasions, not only special ones, will be key to drive growth.”

However, wine is not the only beverage alcohol category experiencing the effects of non-alcohol trends.

Mark Chaplin explains that although non-alcohol and better-for-you is growing at double-digits, it still only accounts for 1% of the beverage alcohol market.

“[F]or us, it is important to invest behind the right brands in this space and partner with our retail partners to ensure this category is positioned correctly on the shelf,” Mark Chaplin says. “Currently, we see that consumers who have tried low-or-no ABV beverages drink them at least once a week. 

“That being said, ‘zebra-striping’ is a popular term in the industry right now,” he continues. “This is in reference to consumers that while consuming non-alc or better-for-you products, also still consume alcoholic products too. They alternate between both categories, and for us, it is important that we listen to the consumer at the end of the day to capitalize on these evolving trends.”

For instance, the company data found that when it comes to non-alcohol wine, 40% of the business comes from household incomes more than $150,000 a year.

“With that, we are working with our customers who merchandise these categories differently to ensure the category is most appropriately merchandised to ensure optimal velocities,” Mark Chaplin says. “Leveraging insights to drive the right assortment at the right customer locations is an important part of how we are working with both our supplier and customer partners within this space.”

Strong performance

Southern Glazer’s continues to stay in tune with innovation is keeping a pulse the trends igniting beverage alcohol market, such as the ready-to-drink (RTD) space.

“RTDs continue to be a key contributor to our overall growth in both the wine and spirits space,” Mark Chaplin says. “We’ve been lucky to have some of the top brands in-house like The Long Drink, On the Rocks, -196, High Noon, Lucky One and Gin & Juice for a while and our teams are focused heavily on meeting the consumer at the point of purchase for these brands, which extends beyond just the convenience channel.”

Validating the company’s investments in its capabilities the past three years, Chaplin explains that recently Anheuser Busch InBev shifted its spirits RTD business to Southern Glazer’s in California and Hawaii.

“We are seeing double-digit growth that continues to outpace the core wine and spirits categories as consumers prefer the portability and convenience factor this segment provides,” he says.

Southern Glazer’s mergers and acquisition activity also has seen the wholesaler expand its beer portfolio.

“Our recent acquisition of Horizon Beverage Group in Massachusetts and Rhode Island certainly increased our profile within beer,” Mark Chaplin says. “However, a little-known fact is that even prior to this acquisition, Southern Glazer’s has sold over 20 million cases of beer, non-alcs and RTDs. It has been a key growth contributor for us in certain markets and we believe this will continue into the future.”

Mark Chaplin adds that when it comes to Southern Glazer’s partnerships, the wholesaler remains focused on creating value for its customers and suppliers.

“Our customers are looking to have discussions with us around total beverage alcohol,” he says. “Having a presence in beer and RTDs accomplishes this. On the flip side, our wine and spirits partners continue to look for opportunities in channels such as c-stores where frequency is important. Beer helps to drive this frequency, while the hand selling we have in wine and spirits benefits our beer partners.”

Adding to success

Although already having a vast portfolio thanks to partnerships with influential wine and spirits suppliers, Southern Glazer’s remains vigilant, evaluating the suppliers market for what’s new and in demand.

“Given our national reach and current portfolio, we take a highly selective approach to onboarding new suppliers,” says Jennifer Chaplin Tolkin, executive vice president and managing director for Campari at Southern Glazer’s. “Equally important, we want to ensure we can provide the resources, support, and collaboration needed to help any new suppliers achieve long-term success. The biggest factors in our selection process include uniqueness, incrementality, proof of concept, multi-year marketing spend, retailer commitments, and feet on the street.”

The wholesaler has implemented a quarterly initiative with its “Brand New” program in which select new suppliers are brought into the Southern Glazer’s portfolio.

“The process is very structured and begins with potential suppliers submitting their business plans, which are then evaluated by a diverse committee from across Southern Glazer’s markets and channels,” Chaplin Tolkin says. “We assess all of these brands against data we track around innovation and growth potential, while also determining if it fills any gaps we may have in our portfolio. After all of this is built into ‘Brand New Scorecards,’ our senior leadership evaluates the final scores, and we make the determination on what brands are best for Southern Glazer’s to begin to build a relationship with.”