In both wine and spirits markets, everyday occasions are driving consumption, along with premium offerings. Whiskey leads the way in spirits, with table wines being among the favorites in the wine category, notched by sparkling wines.

The sports drinks category saw a 15.6% growth over the year prior, which experts note likely is due to increasing consumer focus on health and wellness in recent years.

With the emergence of the pandemic, consumers turned to the juice category to support their immune systems. That has resulted in growth across many segments including refrigerated lemonades and aseptic juices.

The functional attributes of energy drinks have helped the category post growth despite the challenges of the pandemic. Although energy drinks recorded 12.6% growth for the 52 weeks ending May 16, energy shots contracted 3.4%.

While the dairy category as a whole remains fairly stable, various sub-segments demonstrate a slowdown, including in traditional milk and soy-based milks. Almond milk and other alternatives, however, are seeing an upward trajectory.

Experts note the pandemic likely contributed to at-home coffee consumption, making single-serve the largest segment of the category. However, growth driven by convenience and consumers’ premium preferences also drove notable growth in the RTD category.

The future remains bright for the bottled water category, particularly as consumer demand for enhanced waters and sparkling waters are strong, assisted by healthy positioning and lots of innovation.

With dollar sales for the U.S. beer market up 9.5%, the beverage alcohol category is seeing growth factions, particularly the beer seltzer centric and non-alcohol beer segments.

Beverage Industry provides an in-depth look into the performances and trends in the alcohol and non-alcohol categories within the last year. The report includes updated statistics from Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI) as well as industry trends and forecasts into what’s next.