Brian Sudano

Much has been written about the acceleration of declines in beer during 2025 along with spirit ready-to-drink (RTD) growth and wine softness; however, the outperformance of alternative adult beverages is giving rise to a differentiated market.

Although new brand failure rates remain high, over the past decade, most leading new products have not emerged through brand extensions. A few big companies have found success, yet most standouts were entrepreneurial ventures. 

While the alternative adult beverages market grew by 7.5% a year or 426% in total since 2002, the total beer market has declined more than 5% in total during this period. This disparity underscores the macro movement to these flavored forward, more modern products.