Agave content ‘very important’ to US millennials

New data from CGA Nielsen has found that 35% of Tequila-drinking millennials consider agave content “very important” when selecting a brand to drink in the on-trade.

A ‘100% agave’ claim is ‘very important’ to millennial Tequila drinkers, Nielsen CGA has found

The research was released as part of the analyst’s US On Premise Measurement Report, which examined the industry’s performance for the 52 weeks to mid-September.

Tequila posted 8.0% volume grains and 9.7% value growth over the period, with the analyst attributing a large proportion of sales to the ongoing popularity of the Margarita serve.

However premiumisation was also cited as a continuing driver of on-trade growth, with the 52-week price/mix of 1.7% indicating the importance of the segment.

With sipping Tequilas growing in popularity, the analyst found that 35% of millennials questioned cited a 100% agave claim “very important” when selecting a Tequila brand, compared to 29% of all consumers.

The Tequila trend is also fuelling interest in mezcal, with the category posting volume and value gains of 30.4% and 30.6% over the 52 weeks.

According to preliminary results from the latest Nielsen CGA On Premise Consumer Survey, 16% of Tequila drinkers are aware of mezcal, and 10% said they would be likely to try the spirit if it was available.

Nielsen CGA says the results suggest mezcal’s momentum is still building, with the category a trend to watch in the on-trade.

More widely, the analyst found that spirits continued to take share from beer and wine in the 52 weeks to mid-September. Spirits volumes saw 1.7% volume gains and 2.8% dollar sales growth, compared to -2.9%/-1.2% for beer and -1.0%/-0.1% for wine.

According to Euromonitor, Tequila and mezcal grew 30% by volume in the US from 2010 and 2015 – faster than any other alcohol category bar Cognac, and more than the global average, which sits at 22%.