Innovations in Healthier Alcoholic Drinks: Healthy positioning strategies, case studies and future opportunities

Health concerns are having an impact on the market for alcoholic drinks. The consumption of alcohol per head in Europe is falling having peaked in about 1975 and this trend is allied to increasing health awareness on the part of consumers. Consumption per head is falling in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, as well as Japan and many other countries, and this trend is expected to continue over at least the next five years.
There is also a shift taking place in the types of alcohol consumed. The consumption of beer/cider/FABs is declining in most western countries whereas wine is generally perceived as a healthier alcoholic drink and so consumption in many countries is rising. In western countries consumption of spirits has not been as harmed by health concerns as spirits are often perceived by consumers to be healthier than beer because of their lower calorie content.
Health issues have already had a fundamental effect on food and non-alcoholic drinks markets and are now going to shape beer, wine and spirits. We have already seen the emergence of significant low/no alcohol and low/no calorie segments. Expect to see growth in organic/natural, low/no carbohydrate and functional segments, as well as more responsible drinking campaigns and a marketing focus on quality over quantity.



Key features of this report


Analysis of almost 1,600 launches of healthier alcoholic that took place globally between 2005 and the start of 2010.
Trends in the share of alcoholic drinks launches accounted for by organic, natural, dietary, low/no alcohol and functional products.
Identification of the key recent trends shaping the market, as well as an evaluation of the next trends likely to become apparent over the coming five years.
Descriptions and photos of the most important healthier alcoholic drinks launched over the last five years.


Scope of this report


• Understand how the myriad of products launched in this market actually fit together and relate to each other. Don’t miss any opportunities!
• Compare your portfolio and NPD pipeline against the healthier drinking benchmarks set out in the report.
• Prompt your marketing and NPD teams with product ideas from around the world.
• Set goals and objectives for your company’s new product development pipeline.


Key Market Issues


• In a climate of increasing government, media and to some extent consumer pressure, the largest drinks companies are rolling out international responsible drinking campaigns.
• The ageing population of developed countries – particularly the baby boomers of the US – present an attractive market for alcoholic drinks with functional health benefits such as higher levels of antioxidants.
• There is a question as to whether the current natural and organic craft products on the market can make the transition to super-brand status.

Key findings from this report


• New products with at least one healthier attribute made up 12% of new product launches in 2009.
• The largest proportion was registered in the beer market where 20% of launches were healthier in some way. This was almost double the proportion in the spirits market (11%), which in turn was higher than that in the wine market (8%).
• The most common health claim on new alcoholic drinks – present in 8% of launches in 2009 – was that the product lacks at least some artificial ingredients.
• The key trends in the low/no calorie segment are the emergence of super low calorie beers, the targeting of women and dieters, the adding to product ranges of more flavors and greater sophistication and the growth of sales outside the US.

Key questions answered


• What alternative to the standard responsible drinking campaign has Whyte & Mackay adopted?
• Why have organic spirits been slower in their growth than organic wines and beers?
• How have different consumption occasions prompted new product development in the realm of healthier alcoholic drinks?
• What will the increasing economic power of women and their greater health consciousness mean for the future of alcoholic drinks?


Report Highlights

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Table of Contents
Innovations in Healthier Alcoholic Drinks
Executive summary 10
Market overview 10
Responsible drinking 11
Innovation overview 11
Drinks with low/no artificials 12
Drinks with dietary claims 12
Lower alcohol drinks 13
Functional alcoholic drinks 14
Future trends 14
Chapter 1 Market overview 18
Summary 18
Introduction 19
Consumption of alcohol 19
Beer, cider and FABs 21
Wine 23
Spirits 25
Regular drinkers 27
Frequency of drinking 28
Quantity of consumption per day 29
Summary of adult drinking 30
Drinking among young people 31
Non-drinkers 31
Conclusions 33
Chapter 2 Responsible drinking 35
Summary 35
Introduction 35
Overview of campaigns 35
Moderate consumption 36
Quality not quantity 37
Reducing binge drinking 37
Binge drinking campaigns 38
Reducing drink driving 39
Chapter 3 Innovation overview 43
Summary 43
Introduction 43
Innovation by product market 44
Innovation by health claim 45
Beer, cider and FABs innovation 47
Wine innovation 48
Spirits innovation 49
Chapter 4 Drinks with low/no artificials 51
Summary 51
Introduction 51
Innovation overview 52
Organic wine 53
Organic and natural beer 54
Case study 1: “just four ingredients” 55
Organic and pure spirits 56
Conclusions 57
Chapter 5 Drinks with dietary claims 59
Summary 59
Introduction 59
Innovation overview 60
Low/no calories 60
Case study 2: super low calorie beers 63
Low calorie wines and spirits 64
Low/no sugar 65
Low/no carbohydrates 68
Case study 3: new genre brews in Japan 69
Other low/no carbohydrates drinks in Japan 70
No gluten 71
Conclusions 72
Chapter 6 Lower alcohol drinks 75
Summary 75
Introduction 76
Innovation overview 76
Low/no alcohol beer 77
Case study 4: low/no alcohol beer in the UK 77
Case study 5: “Fourth beers” in Japan 79
Low/no alcohol wine and spirits 80
Mid-strength beer 81
Reduced strength beer 83
Case study 6: 4% beer 83
Reduced strength wine 83
Reduced serving sizes 85
Conclusions 87
Chapter 7 Functional alcoholic drinks 90
Summary 90
Introduction 90
Innovation overview 90
High vitamins 91
High minerals 92
High polyphenols 93
Case study 7: Mercian Bon Rouge 93
High GABA and other amino acids 97
Other functional ingredients 99
Borrowing ingredients from soft drinks 100
Alcoholic energy drinks 101
Niche functions 103
Conclusions 104
Chapter 8 Future trends 106
Summary 106
Taking inspiration from different occasions 106
Targeting health conscious women 107
Shifting focus from young adults 108
Appendix 111
Index 115
References 117

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List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Consumption per head of pure alcohol by country, 2005-2013 20
Figure 1.2: Consumption per head of beer/cider/FABs by country, 2005-2013 22
Figure 1.3: Consumption per head of wine by country, 2005-2013 23
Figure 1.4: Wine in ‘medicinal’ packaging 25
Figure 1.5: Consumption per head of spirits by country, 2005-2013 26
Figure 1.6: Non-drinkers by country; % of adults not drinking in the last 12 months, 2006 32
Figure 2.7: Vladivar’s “quality not quantity” campaign 37
Figure 2.8: Mothers Against Drunk Driving products 40
Figure 3.9: Healthier alcoholic drinks launches by market, 2005-09 44
Figure 3.10: Healthier alcoholic drinks launches by claim, 2005-09 46
Figure 3.11: Beer/cider/FAB launches by health claim, 2005-09 47
Figure 3.12: Wine launches by health claim, 2005-09 48
Figure 3.13: Spirits launches by health claim (% product launches) 2005-09 49
Figure 4.14: Organic beers 54
Figure 4.15: Natural beers 55
Figure 4.16: Organic and natural spirits 57
Figure 5.17: Low calorie beers outside the US 61
Figure 5.18: Diet-branded beers 62
Figure 5.19: Super low calorie beers and lime beers 64
Figure 5.20: Low calorie pre-mixed spirits 65
Figure 5.21: Low sugar beer 66
Figure 5.22: Low sugar FABs 66
Figure 5.23: Low/no sugar wines and spirits 67
Figure 5.24: Michelob Ultra 68
Figure 5.25: No carbohydrate happoshu 69
Figure 5.26: Low carbohydrates new genre brews 70
Figure 5.27: Low carb sake, wine and liqueur 71
Figure 5.28: No gluten beer 72
Figure 6.29: No alcohol beers 78
Figure 6.30: Fourth beers in Japan 79
Figure 6.31: Low/no alcohol wines and spirits 80
Figure 6.32: Mid-strength beer and cider 82
Figure 6.33: Reduced strength wines 84
Figure 6.34: Alcoholic drinks in 25cl pack sizes 85
Figure 6.35: Wines in personal pack sizes 86
Figure 7.36: High vitamin beer and FABs 92
Figure 7.37: High mineral beers 93
Figure 7.38: Mercian’s range of Bon Rouge wines 95
Figure 7.39: High polyphenol wines from Mercian and Suntory 95
Figure 7.40: High polyphenol spirits & beer 97
Figure 7.41: High amino acid wines 98
Figure 7.42: High amino acid beer and sake 98
Figure 7.43: High protein, fiber and collagen products 99
Figure 7.44: Alcoholic drinks with perceived healthy ingredients 101
Figure 7.45: Alcoholic energy beer 102
Figure 7.46: Alcoholic energy drinks 103
Figure 7.47: Isotonic beer 104
Figure 8.48: Carlsberg Eve 108
List of Tables
Table 1.1: Consumption per head of pure alcohol by country, 2005-2013 21
Table 1.2: Consumption per head of beer, cider and FABs by country, 2005-2013 22
Table 1.3: Consumption per head of wine by country, 2005-2013 24
Table 1.4: Consumption per head of spirits by country, 2005-2013 27
Table 1.5: Regular drinkers: % of adults drinking in the last 30 days by country, 2003-06 28
Table 1.6: Frequency of drinking by regular drinkers (%), 2006 29
Table 1.7: Regular drinkers by quantity drunk per day (%), 2003-06 29
Table 1.8: Regular drinkers by frequency of drinking (%), 2006 30
Table 1.9: Summary of regular drinkers by country, 2006 31
Table 3.10: Percentage of healthier alcoholic drinks launches by market (%), 2005-09 45
Table 3.11: Healthier alcoholic drinks launches by claim, 2005-09 46
Table 3.12: Beer/cider/FAB launches by health claim (% product launches), 2005-09 47
Table 3.13: Wine launches by health claim (% product launches), 2005-09 48
Table 3.14: Spirits launches by health claim (% product launches), 2005-09 49
Table 4.15: Alcoholic drinks launches with low/no artificial ingredients; % product launches, 2005-09 52
Table 5.16: Alcoholic drinks launches with dietary claims; % product launches, 2005-09 60
Table 6.17: Alcoholic drinks launches with low/no alcohol claims; % product launches, 2005-09 76
Table 7.18: Alcoholic drinks launches with functional claims; % product launches, 2005-09 91
Table 7.19: Evolution of Mercian’s Bon Rouge range of healthier wine 94
Table 0.20: Alcoholic drinks launches by health claim; % product launches, 2005-09 111
Table 0.21: Beer/cider/FAB launches by health claim; % product launches, 2005-09 112
Table 0.22: Wine launches by health claim; % product launches, 2005-09 113
Table 0.23: Spirits launches by health claim; % product launches, 2005-09 114

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