Almost everyone was wrong about Gen Z
Worry less about whether young people are drinking, and more about private label
Welcome to Happy Hour, our quick-scroll guide to the news and views of the bev/alc sector. Subscribe below for the next one.
Two things we’ve spoken about a few times in this newsletter:
1)Gen Z is drinking, despite all the doom-laden headlines about it
2)Chasing superficial trends is no way to build a brand
In the last couple of weeks, there’s been a noticeable shift in the conversation around younger drinkers as people realise that the ‘Gen Z doesn’t drink’ story doesn’t hold up.
It’s a great story. It’s provocative. It’s frightening. It threatens to upend a social behaviour that dates back, literally, 10,000+ years. Of course people paid attention to it. And of course journalists and commentators enjoyed playing on it.
The trouble is, if you’re building a brand - of any kind, really - you have to be more curious about these superficial ripples. It might look like they’re drinking less, but what’s actually going on beneath that? What’s the wider and deeper context?
Are Gen Z not drinking, or is your brand just really boring? Are you working hard enough to appeal to them? What’s the surrounding economic factors? Do these statistics add up? Is this at all credible?
Ok, and if you’re now done worrying about Gen Z, can we put you onto something else to think about?
Stores are building their own brands, and they are putting time and effort into making them look great.
One report says nearly a quarter of all US grocery units sold are now private label. Supermarkets are really investing in boosting their own-label alcohol. And in the UK, Marks & Spencer is absolutely showing how it’s done.
Big name brands, you better step up your game.
Let’s scroll through some news together:
TINY THINGS
-Is it the GLP-1s, is it shrinkflation, or does everyone just love small things? The mini beers are coming.
-Blowfish is betting on two things that feel very of-the-moment: purity of ingredients, tiny cans.
Our take: This is a reminder that there’s another side to the more adaptogens, more ingredients, more benefits, more function, more everything side of drinks.
-Even CNN is writing about tiny booze.
NEW NEW NEW
-Say hello to pickle water. Apparently it’s very popular.
-Then, say hello to pickle HOPWTR.
-Sazerac never sleeps. Here they are with three new (and pretty cute) RTDs, including a hard cream soda.
-Remember CHAOS BRANDS? We love them. Ciggy’s (yes, that is really the name) is embracing that energy.
-Bero releases a special Odyssey edition. Of course.
Our take: Are they successful because it’s a great brand or because of Tom Holland? Send us your thoughts on a postcard. Or composed into 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter.
-Maker’s Mark – love their signature waxy top – has released a set of limited edition city bottles, celebrating NYC, LA, London, Paris, Seoul and other big name destinations.
-THC bevs are coming to Lollapalooza.
WEIRD CORNER
-UK wine brand Folc is apparently hiring a soil sommelier.
-There’s a drink for everything now. The delightfully named Swinger is ‘craft energy’ for golfers.
-Erewhon continues to see just how far they can push it, with $12 ‘Sacred Water’.
-Let’s take another minute to celebrate CHAOS BRANDS, with Malört’s ad campaign which foregoes all the usual high-falutin’ bev/alc taglines and basically says: this tastes disgusting, enjoy it, you pig.
-We knew it was coming… functional NA beer. Yes a beer with no booze but the ability to support muscle recovery and hydration.
Our take: The ‘beer with benefits’ tagline is truly nonsensical. Arguably, all beer has benefits. And anyway, why not just drink water after your workout?
BY THE WAY: we’re writing a feature, right now, on occasions. Do we have subscribers with big thoughts? Controversial opinions? Or a reader who just wants to rant about what’s going on with bev brands and occasions/rituals? Fire us an email please.
REMEMBER BACK WHEN….
-We’re in a real moment of Dirty Shirley, cream soda, and basically anything that gives us the warm glow of our youth, when everything seemed fine. Earlier this month, the Eater wondered whether jelly shots were due a comeback.
Our take: For some on-the-ground, anecdotal reporting, I made some for a birthday party last year and people have never been so happy or so drunk.
WINE TIME
-Jacob’s Creek launches a new campaign: Welcome to the Creek. They say it’s created for an always-on world, full of curation and distraction. It gives the brand a “warmer and more confident energy, celebrating connection without pressure, easy enjoyment, and the kind of unfiltered moments that bring people together.’ Ok.
COCKTAILS PLEASE
-Blackbird Spyplane have announced the drink of the summer: the À La Renaissance. It’s made with Campari and pastis. Is pastis due a buzzy comeback?
-Clever move from Kocktail, serving RTDs in an actual glass with a lid. For those moments when BuzzBallz isn’t quite fancy enough.
-Cutwater’s new ad campaign stars Parker Posey, sitting on a looooooooooong kitchen counter and failing to prevent a prevailing sense of horror from creeping into her performance.
YOUR ASSIGNED READING
-Express Checkout has a smart take on what’s happening with nostalgia in the bev space (scroll down a bit to find it). In short, nostalgia might work faster than novelty when you’re stood in front of a shelf full of drinks.
-There’s no denying that Aperol are getting a lot right. Europe is already theirs, and now they’re coming for all of America.
-This is an excellent piece about packaging, about what belongs to who, and about what happens when a major brand feels very inspired by a small business.
-Celebrity-founded booze brands have grown into a category of their very own. Are you even a celebrity if you don’t have your own drinks brand? VinePair has a different take on the phenomenon: yes, celebrities are still in, but it’s dead celebrities brands really want.
-The story of how bored monks started a tonic wine brand that made $82m last year.
YOUR ASSIGNED LISTENING
-Do we have any THC brand owners in our subscriber list? This one’s for you.
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