Alcoholic Drinks

The post-pandemic period witnessed a remarkable surge in wine consumption in Ecuador, with consumers embracing the habit of regular wine drinking. This fostered high expectations within the industry, attracting numerous smaller brands alongside the…

The year 2023 began with a surplus of imported spirits due to the global logistics crisis in Ecuador in 2022. Fearing stock shortages, companies over-ordered, leading to an oversupply situation. This, coupled with a decline in demand from the…

Wine-based RTDs, particularly sangria, have emerged as a clear winner within the overall RTD category in Ecuador in 2023. This growth is fuelled by a significant increase in product options available to consumers. The modern retail channel has…

Beer in Ecuador witnessed a dynamic struggle for dominance in 2023. Cervecería Nacional, the incumbent leader, leveraged its diverse product portfolio catering to various socioeconomic segments and extensive national distribution network to maintain…

Alcoholic drinks in Ecuador operates within a challenging macroeconomic environment. Despite a modest GDP growth in 2023, the country grappled with political instability and security concerns. President Guillermo Lasso's dissolving of the National…

Like other product categories in the country, wine in Costa Rica experienced high unit price increases in 2022, with official figures indicating a steep CPI increase of 11.2%. Despite these pricing developments, wine saw a positive performance both…

Spirits in Costa Rica saw healthy volume growth due to strong spending and consumption in 2022, as consumers returned to bars and restaurants following the lifting of pandemic restrictions. Emerging and niche categories such as (imported) English gin…

Consumer demand for RTDs continues to expand in Costa Rica in 2023 as new products enter the category. Consumers are also increasingly appreciating the convenience of RTDs (typically in can formats) as they are pre-mixed. In addition, sales are…

Cider/perry continued to be a small product area in terms of value and volume in Costa Rica in 2023. Despite the economic conditions affecting the country, including high inflation in 2022 and most of 2023, cider/perry is in line with strengthening…

According to official data, beer in Costa Rica recorded a CPI increase in excess of 16% in 2022, which was a sharp increase within the drinks industry. Coupled with the persistent inflationary pressures affecting the economy, consumers were forced to…

Following the revenge spending observed in 2022, 2023 saw a far more muted performance overall in alcoholic drinks in Costa Rica due to the macroeconomic situation in the country and challenging market conditions faced by consumers. Persistent…

In 2023, wine in Brazil maintained a similar performance to 2021 and 2022, with decreasing total volume sales, driven purely by the continued poor performance of still red wine in the country. This is due consumers’ lack of interest in the category,…

Total volume growth of spirits in Brazil remained in positive territory in 2023, but saw a significant slowdown. One factor contributing to this slowdown was the fact that after several years of solid total volume growth in Brazil, more premium…

RTDs in Brazil maintained continued, although slower, total volume growth in 2023. The main development seen in RTDs in 2023 was the newfound focus of such products, with a slower increase for malt-based RTDs, which often offer a very similar flavour…

Cider/perry returned to growth in total volume sales in Brazil in 2023. It is important to understand consumer behaviour during times of high inflation in Brazil, including the inflationary situation from 2020, which continued, although to a lesser…

After several years of consistent solid growth, driven by new consumption occasions, innovation, and premiumisation, a hangover seemed to hit Brazil’s prolific beer category, with a strong slowdown in total volume growth in 2023. There are a plethora…

2023 was a more challenging year for alcoholic drinks in Brazil, which had shown resilience and solid total volume growth over 2020-2022 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, total volume decreases were experienced across mid-priced lager,…

Although Uruguay enacted the alcohol zero law for driving several years ago, its ongoing impact on wine consumption remained significant in 2023. High outing costs in Uruguay, coupled with the necessity of using a taxi due to the prohibition on…

There has been a social and institutional crisis in Peru resulting from the dismissal of former president Pedro Castillo in December 2022, following a failed coup attempt. In addition, the country also faced an economic crisis in 2023 due to internal…

Wine consumption remained low in the Dominican Republic in 2023, and also registered a significant drop in volume sales. With the economy spluttering, particularly in the first half of 2023, consumers cut down on wine consumption. That being said,…

In 2023, spirits in Uruguay was negatively impacted due to the economic situation in Argentina, which resulted in a decrease in local volume sales. The favourable dollar exchange rate in Argentina made the country highly affordable for Uruguayan…

Peru’s government announced in the second half of 2023 that the country had entered an economic recession. This was a result of high inflation, the lingering effects of the pandemic, the strikes and protests following the replacement of former…

While spirits continued to be a popular alcoholic drink in the Dominican Republic in 2023, it registered a significant drop in volume sales. With the economy spluttering and prices also rising, consumers cut down on consumption of spirits, as prices…

RTDs was one of the biggest winners in alcoholic drinks in Uruguay in 2023. Amongst the different types of RTDs, spirit-based drinks put in the best performance over the review period as a whole. Growth has been in line with the trend towards…

Despite Peru entering recession 2023, RTDs managed to deliver strong growth in total volume terms, with these products continuing to attract new consumers. Apart from the novelty of these products, factors such as the wide variety of brands and…

RTDs were the star performer in the Dominican Republic in 2023. While other alcoholic drinks registered minimal volume growth, or saw sales decline, RTDs register double-digit percentage volume growth. Volume sales are now almost on par with wine.…

Historically, cider/perry has struggled to establish itself in alcoholic beverages, primarily competing on price. This has led to its reputation as an economical, basic product available in large, accessible formats, lacking sophistication. As the…

In a difficult year for alcoholic drinks in Peru, cider/perry was one of the few bright spots with the category seeing double-digit growth in total volume terms for the second year running. The main reason for this was due to the fact that the…

Consumption of cider/perry is low in the Dominican Republic and in 2023, it was even lower, with volume sales falling significantly. There was increased price sensitivity, as the economy spluttered, particularly in the first half of the year., and…

Beer emerged as the most preferred alcoholic beverage among Uruguayans in 2023, accounting for more than half of total alcohol consumption. In recent years, there was a clear polarisation in consumption, favouring economic beer on the one hand and…

2023 was a year marked by recession in Peru, which directly impacted the consumption of alcoholic drinks. Nonetheless, while sales of more expensive options such as wine and spirits saw a sharp decline in sales in total volume terms demand for beer…

It was a mixed year for beer in the Dominican Republic in 2023. Overall, there was a slight increase in volume sales, though volume sales actually fell during the first half of the year, as the economy spluttered, and consumers cut down on beer…

In 2023, the economic situation in Uruguay experienced a more negative turn than anticipated in the previous year, primarily due to drought conditions during the first half of the year. The GDP grew and overall consumption remained stable. Inflation,…

2023 was a year of mixed results for alcoholic drinks in Peru. With a second consecutive year of high inflation and a sharp rise in living costs Peruvians became more cautious in their spending when it came to alcoholic drinks, with the most affected…

Overall, it was a muted picture for alcoholic drinks in the Dominican Republic in 2023, with volume sales falling overall, as the economy spluttered. However, the picture improved in the second half of the year, as the economy picked up.

Wine experienced very healthy volume growth in in Guatemala in 2023, with sales increasing by a fifth. All wines are imported from countries such as Chile, Argentina, Spain, Italy and the US. There is significant segmentation, with consumers…

In spite of continuing price rises, spirits in Guatemala registered moderate volume growth in 2023. One reason being that consumers of spirits are generally less price sensitive than beer consumers. Tequila (mezcal) was the best performer in terms of…

RTDs in Guatemala registered healthy volume growth in what is an increasingly popular alcoholic drink, with volume sales increasing by a fifth. RTDs drinks are mainly consumed by younger consumers of under 30 years-of-age, with their bright colourful…

Cider/perry has a niche profile in Guatemala with it being sold mainly through modern retail channels, with only limited shelf space and visibility. Brands such as Arbor Mist, Eva and Wells have narrow portfolios of three to four flavours and have…

Beer continued to be the most popular alcoholic drink in Guatemala and registered positive volume growth in 2023. It is a mature product, with a high degree of segmentation. Local mid-priced and economy beers dominate, with local brewery, Cervecería…

It was a positive picture for alcoholic drinks in Guatemala in 2023, with moderate volume and constant value growth, in spite of high inflation and also social unrest.

Wine in Chile saw a total volume decline in 2023, with slightly falling sales both on-trade and off-trade. In wine, premiumisation encountered a notable deceleration in 2022 and 2023, influenced by the dual challenges of an unstable economic scenario…

Spirits in Chile returned to slight total volume growth in 2023, with increases for both channels. Despite seeing a minimal total volume decline in 2023, pisco, a beloved spirit deeply ingrained in Chilean culture, has demonstrated remarkable…

In 2023, Ready-To-Drink beverages (RTDs) in Chile saw a total volume decline, with falling sales both on-trade and off-trade. The category encountered a significant hurdle in the form of inflation, which played a pivotal role in curbing demand for…

Cider in Chile experienced only low total volume growth in 2023, with increases for both channels. Climate change emerged as a significant factor hampering growth. The production of cider relies heavily on the cultivation of apples, and the category…

Beer in Chile maintained total volume decline in 2023, with sales falling both on-trade and off-trade. Mid-priced lager encountered a notable total volume decline, which can be attributed to a confluence of factors, chiefly revolving around robust…

In 2023, alcoholic drinks in Chile saw a second year of total volume decline. The industry was shaped by a complex interplay of economic factors and changing consumer preferences. In analysing these trends, it is essential to consider how economic…

Wine in Mexico registered total volume growth in 2023, with increases seen both on-trade and off-trade. During 2023, although wine imports suffered a considerable contraction due to a succession of frosts, droughts, and torrential rain, with…

Due to a reduction in celebrations and social gatherings, and the impact of inflation, spirits in Mexico showed a slight decrease in total volume terms in 2023, with on-trade sales seeing little movement, and off-trade sales declining. The national…

RTDs maintained solid total volume growth in 2023, with increases seen both on-trade and off-trade. RTDs is comprised of spirit-based and wine-based RTDs, plus other RTDs (mainly hard seltzers). It was the latter that showed the strongest total…