Spirits Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the spirits market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global spirits market reached a value of nearly $143.6 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $143.6 billion in 2023 to $186 billion in 2028 at a rate of 5.3%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2028 and reach $246.5 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the rise in consumption of alcoholic drinks among young people, rapid urbanization, strong economic growth in emerging markets and growth in the tourism industry. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period was stringent government regulations on alcoholic beverages.

Going forward, increase in social media engagement promoting alcoholic beverages, rising disposable incomes per capita, surge in e-commerce and retail sales and increase in global population will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the spirits market in the future include increase in taxes.

The spirits market is segmented by type into whiskey, vodka, rum, tequila, gin and other spirits. The whiskey market was the largest segment of the spirits market segmented by type, accounting for 40.1% or $57.6 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the tequila segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the spirits market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 7.6% during 2023-2028.

The spirits market is segmented by category into mass and premium. The mass market was the largest segment of the spirits market segmented by category, accounting for 69.3% or $99.49 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the premium segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the spirits market segmented by category, at a CAGR of 6.3% during 2023-2028.

The spirits market is segmented by distribution channel into off-trade channels and on-trade channels. The off-trade channels market was the largest segment of the spirits market segmented by distribution channel, accounting for 74.6% or $107.1 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the on-trade channels segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the spirits market segmented by distribution channel, at a CAGR of 6.6% during 2023-2028.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the spirits market, accounting for 51.9% or $74.5 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the spirits market will be Middle East and South America where growth will be at CAGRs of 13.5% and 12.5% respectively. These will be followed by Africa and North America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 12.5% and 6.6% respectively.

The global spirits market is fairly concentrated, with large players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 38.83% of the total market in 2022. Diageo PLC was the largest competitor with 14.8% share of the market, followed by PernodRicard SA with 6.2%, Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. with 3.5%, Bacardi Limited with 3.4%, The Brown-Forman Corporation with 2.7%, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited with 2.5%, LVMH with 1.7%, Kweichow Moutai Group with 1.4%, William Grant & Sons with 1.3%, and Suntory Holdings Limited with 1.3%.

The top opportunities in the spirits market segmented by type will arise in the whiskey segment, which will gain $13.2 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the spirits market by category will arise in the mass segment, which will gain $26.8 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the spirits market by distribution channel will arise in the Off-Trade Channels segment, which will gain $28.8 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The spirits market size will gain the most in the USA at $11.8 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the spirits market include focus on introduction of premium spirits to cater to evolving consumer preferences, launch of ready-to-drink (RTD) spirits to meet consumer demand for convenience, development of spirits-based hard seltzers to attract health-conscious customers and strategic partnerships and collaborations to expand product range.

Player-adopted strategies in the spirits market include focus on the acquisition of major beverages companies to develop premium drinks, strengthening business capabilities through strategic collaborations and partnerships and product launches and strengthening its business capabilities through a distribution network, by setting up a distribution organization.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the spirits companies to focus on premiumization to cater to evolving consumer preferences, focus on ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings to meet changing consumer preferences, focus on spirits-based hard seltzers to cater to health-conscious consumers, focus on tequila segment for growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on collaborations and sales partnerships to expand market presence, focus on on-trade channels for growth, provide competitively priced offerings, focus on pricing strategy development, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions, focus on e-commerce expansion, focus on digital marketing, emphasize experiential marketing, focus on targeting younger consumers and focus on urban populations.