The U.S. beer business achieved quantity consumption development of 0.7% in 2021 to 2.85 billion 2.25-gallon circumstances, in accordance with the 2022 Beer Handbook.
This optimistic shift may be primarily attributed to the expansion throughout the flavored malt drinks, imports and craft classes, as all different beer segments posted losses.
Though the laborious seltzers sub-segment inside FMBs skilled a big deceleration versus the meteoric rise of the previous few years, the general class did have manufacturers that continued to drive development.
In the course of the previous 10 years, quantity consumption throughout the beer business has declined. The beer class stays in a precarious place. Maybe extra so than another class, it has been modified by Covid-19. Huge manufacturers have been shrinking for years. Earlier than the pandemic, craft loved speedy development, fueled by client experimentation and reliant on taprooms and the on-premise.
Then Covid closed the on-premise dealing a blow to craft, and different beer segments as nicely, that it’s nonetheless making an attempt to get well from. Shopper preferences have modified and have to this point not reverted to pre-Covid.
Whole home beer ended 2021 at 2.32 billion 2.25-gallon circumstances, which accounted for an 81.3% share of the general class, a lower from 2020. Progress ranges inside FMBs and craft weren’t in a position to offset the decline of different home beer classes.
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Craft beer was on the verge of decline previous to the pandemic. Since 2014, the class was steadily rising, however the price of development was declining yr after yr. The pandemic accelerated this anticipated contraction interval. Craft beer bounced again in 2021 with 4.5% development, which places the class close to 2018 ranges of consumption and the third-largest beer class.
The mature beer business has remained comparatively flat since 2014. Nonetheless, the current recognition of malt drinks, particularly laborious seltzers, continues to be a driver of recent development. The FMB/Arduous Seltzer class was up 11.3% in 2021 and continues to take market share from different classes of beer. In 2021, the phase took extra market share than another class at +1.2% and now controls 12.0% of the entire beer class.
Imported beers skilled a 6.3% enhance in development, and had been the second fastest-growing beer class of 2021 and one in all two beer classes to achieve quantity development over 5%. That efficiency was good for an 18.7% market share of the general beer market in 2021 and is a achieve of 1-share level versus 2020, protecting imports in second place behind market chief gentle beer.
Characteristic picture by Missy Fant on Unsplash.
