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Coffee and Tequila grow in cocktail influence

Cocktails are now the fourth most-consumed category in the global on-trade, with Tequila and coffee serves growing in popularity, CGA by NIQ has revealed in its Global Cocktail Report 2024.

Tequila cocktail
Tequila cocktails are trending with the Margarita leading the charge

The report surveyed responses from 30,000 consumers across 38 countries on their drinking preferences when visiting bars, pubs, cafés and restaurants.

It noted that 27% of consumers are drinking cocktails out of home, which was up by two percentage points in the Americas, but down by the same amount in Europe.

From the data, 33% surveyed had soft drinks down as a top choice, with beer covering 51% and wine 31%.

Tequila and agave spirits were highlighted for their popularity with the Margarita and Tequila Sunrise seeing year-on-year growth, while rum-based cocktails such as the Mojito and the Piña Colada were enjoying ‘immense’ popularity, too.

The Mojito (40%) was the world’s preferred cocktail choice with Margarita ranking second at 32%.

In terms of what else is trending upwards, Espresso Martinis have increased by two percentage points from 13% to 15%, with cocktails with a coffee flavour rising from 19% to 22% over the past year. Also popular: chocolate (up from 15% to 19%); vanilla (rising from 19% to 22%) and honey (up from 14% to 15%).

CGA noted that this shows a ‘surging demand’ for indulgence in the cocktail experience.

Furthermore, tropical fruit flavours (mango, passionfruit and pineapple, for instance) are being favoured by up to 30% of on-trade visitors, which CGA observed as an area where businesses could combine with non-alcoholic drinks, which are ‘significantly on rise’.

Trending flavours can be used in tandem with non-alcoholic cocktails, as almost 35% of consumers are opting for no-and-low options in on-trade venues.

Beyond the type of cocktail alone, other factors influencing cocktail drinker decisions include good value (43% surveyed had a preference for this), high quality (41%) and a sense of premiumness (23%).

Furthermore, 41% of cocktail drinkers are willing to pay more for quality, which is 10 percentage points higher than that of the average on-trade visitor. Moreover, 8% more cocktail drinkers want their liquid to feel interesting and unique, which CGA suggests leads to more consumer experimentation with new drinks and brands.

Brand loyalty is also less so in cocktails than in beer and wine, where cocktail drinkers are happy to try something new over well-known brands. This could be seen as the cocktail category being the ‘most exciting and innovative of all beverage categories in the on-trade’, CGA said.

Lastly, social media – Instagram and TikTok in particular – was found to have a big influence on decision making, with 85% of consumers driven by a social media post on their visit to cafés, bars and restaurants. In addition, nearly 81% put social media down as the reason behind their purchase of a specific food item.

To close out last year, we predicted small cocktails, savoury options, RTDs, ice and 90s-inspired serves, to be the cocktail trends of 2024.

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