and artisanal spirits to craft beers and ciders, Australia’s consumers have long preferred
. Low-alcohol and alcohol-free wine and beer alternatives have been gaining traction as consumers increasingly moderate their alcohol consumption. Today, the country’s alcohol market remains relatively stable, with a world-leading wine market. However, with consumers cutting back on discretionary spending and
experiencing several issues recently, the question arises: Could Australia’s most successful alcoholic beverages segment be dethroned, or will wine experience a comeback?
What is Australia’s favorite alcoholic beverage?
Wine is the most consumed alcoholic drink and the
most successful segment of Australia’s alcoholic beverages market. Australia is one of the
leading exporters of wine worldwide and ranks fifth
globally in terms of wine production, with South Australia at the heart of the country’s wine industry. Australian wine producer and distributor, Treasury Wine Estates, is recognized as one of the world’s largest and most successful wine companies. Penfolds, a brand operating under TWE, was named
Australia’s most valuable alcohol brand in 2023.
From full-strength to non-alcoholic beer
On the wine industry’s heels,
the country’s beer market, which has been shifting away from full-strength toward mid-strength and low-strength beers, recorded a revenue exceeding 12 billion Australian dollars in 2023. Independent breweries and mainstream beer brands, such as Coopers, XXXX, VB, and Tooheys, populate Australia’s beer scene, with beer enthusiasts countrywide exhibiting a strong preference for unique craft pints. Non- and low-alcohol beer has also been trending. In 2020, only around 15 percent of
Australia’s craft beer drinkers reported consuming alcohol-free beer, with this increasing to over 30 percent in 2022.
Is RTD consumption on the rise?
Ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs) have witnessed a significant growth in popularity over the past few years due to their convenience, with almost double
the number of people consuming RTDs in Australia in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels. With consumers becoming more health-conscious, interest in low-alcohol and non-alcoholic RTD, wine, and beer alternatives, as well as mocktails, is also growing.
Are Australians shopping for alcohol in-store or online?
While brick-and-mortar retailing remains the preferred channel for consumers purchasing alcohol, the
online alcohol retailing segment has been slowly eating away at the offline sales share. Australia's supermarket rivals, Woolworths and Coles, dominate the country’s alcoholic beverages retail sector, online and offline. In 2020,
the Endeavour Group was formed, a group spun off from Woolworths, which operates liquor store chains Dan Murphys and BWS, with Coles operating the Liquorland and First Choice Liquor chains. While the Coles liquor brands have found success in physical retail outlets, as of 2022, Endeavour took a 46.4 percent share of
Australia’s online liquor market. Due to ineffective processes to ensure alcohol is not sold to people who are intoxicated or underage, Australia’s online alcohol sales policies have come under scrutiny, with several states planning policy revisions.
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