January 22/New York/Press Release -- Mounting demand for crafted alcoholic beverages and premium products is giving niche producers a reason to eat, drink and be merry. Currently, a thirsty market is enticing investors to enter into the alcoholic beverage businesses, which has led to a quickly expanding proportion of start-ups in the sector. While a growing population of legal drinkers and rising alcohol consumption will contribute to this expansion, the rise of premiumization will likely be the key to these new, independent enterprises’ success. Premiumization, a trend by which consumers gravitate toward premium and ultra-premium products, including alcohol, is expected to become more widespread as overall spending increases. As such, the growing taste for high-end beverages will help drive up demand for higher-priced craft and imported spirits. As a result, the alcoholic beverage manufacturing sector is overflowing with opportunities for crafty entrepreneurs looking to enter the beer, liquor and wine industries.
Brewers Lead the Pack
Though dominated by a few major players, the breweries industry is currently foaming over with an influx of niche players that are giving industry leaders a run for their money. Traditionally, a high degree of competition and rising production costs have led to merger and acquisition activity among this industry’s largest players. In fact, just two companies, Anheuser-Bush InBev and MillerCoors, hold a massive 75.4% of the market share. In recent years, however, changing consumer preferences have given rise to craft breweries, which are smaller and target regional markets. These enterprises have been expanding and gaining widespread popularity among curious consumers who spend an increasing proportion of their cash on premium beverages. Moreover, increasingly health-conscious sippers are substituting higher-volume purchases of value beer for lower quantities of finer brews. As a result, craft brewers are cutting into a widening slice of Budweiser and Miller Light’s pie.