SnaxShot #01: What's In A Drink?

Sober drinks come of age.

A newsletter on upcoming food and beverage trends that offers a curation of brands and aesthetics written by Andrea Hernández.

🔮 Peek into the future:

• The new sobriety —on non-alcoholic beverages.

• Snaxshot of market.

• Favorite brands in the space.

• Domestic is the new aesthetic.

  Don’t be shy, the water’s warm, don’t forget to hit the subscribe button below.

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What’s in a drink, that made in any other way would buzz just as good?

The idea of “happy hours” in 2020 sounds like an oxymoron, in fact, alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, but BigAlcohol™ has made sure we forget about this and much more. As millennials, we are known as the “me” generation, so selfish to the point we started applying a self-awareness mindset towards everything we consume, lest you forget we’re also the “burnout generation” —cue in the commodification of wellness, it’s just self-care, amirite?

As the contrarians that we are (consider how we’ve opted for avocado toasts, in lieu of homes) it may come to no surprise that we’d eventually rebel against the notion that every form of socializing must revolve around alcohol. Leave it to us to not only popularize riding in cars with strangers but also make sobriety, considered in days of yore to be “uncool” or something strictly for those in recovery, the next trendy thing.

Relax —I can feel your eyes rolling at this statement, you may be mumbling under your breath “mocktails have always been a thing” and you’re not wrong, however, we’ve perfected them, a makeover from sugary, colorful, tacky and aesthetically unpleasing drinks, into adult versions that won’t make us feel like we have to pair it with a Lunchable —sober drinks have come of age, we’ve molded them to go accordingly to our Instagrammable meals.

As BigBrands™ take notice and dive into this segment it’s time to raise a glass for non-drinkers and sober curious alike, here’s to no more hangxiety.

Snaxshot 📸

• As of 2019, U.S. beer volumes were down 2.3% — the fourth straight year of declines and for the first time in 25 years, wine sales declined.

• Booming demand for functional beverages is propelling the non-alcoholic beverage market,  registering a CAGR of 4.7% (2019 - 2024).

• Alcohol/low abv category volume to grow by over 35% by 2023. 

• Alcohol-free beer is forecasted to grow 47% globally.

• Here’s a chart provided by Nielsen, emoji commentary, by me:

Brand Favorites:

Aesthetics:

• The future is not sans serif but more 70s inspired fonts.

• Venkatesh Rao of Ribbonfarm, came up with “domestic cozy.” “A defining quality of younger millennials and Gen Z who care less in some ways about performing for society at large and instead prioritize their own comfort.” An opposite to premium mediocre, a trend mostly enjoyed by elder millennials.

  “Domestic cozy is a rejection of the aspirational lifestyle aesthetic and the monetization of every hour of the day.”

See you again next week, different future, same place.

🔮 Tweet at me @thesnaxshot.

🔮 Share with your friends and let them know forecasting trends is the new astrology: