This blog was last updated on October 23, 2020

Consumer buying patterns have drastically changed this year, affecting the beverage alcohol industry in many ways. The pandemic has shifted what consumers are buying, where, and how often. To see how these changes have affected alcohol producers, Sovos ShipCompliant has examined data from our Product Registration Online (PRO) tool to see just how much consumers’ buying patterns have influenced producers’ new product registrations.

Some companies have grown during the pandemic, while others have seen negative impacts.Throughout the third quarter, of 2020 (July, August, September), the 10 companies with the highest registrations (out of 800+) are responsible for 54% of all registrations. And, over 500 companies only registered one label through our system during that same period.

Product registrations also varied depending on the month. Both April and July saw significant registrations over other months. This may be due to COVID-19 factors; in April many states eased up restrictions on business operations and alcohol sales, and in July socialization rates across the country increased significantly. It’s not surprising that outside factors had more of an influence on new product registrations this year than in 2019. 

Following is a breakdown of the new product registration data from the past quarter—Q3—for spirits, beer and wine.

Spirits

The spirits category had explosive growth. The past quarter saw a 58% increase in registrations from 2019 and a 31% increase over the previous quarter, Q2 (April, May, June).  When broken down further:

• Gin registrations are up 113% over Q3 of 2019 and up 56% from Q2 of 2020
• Rum registrations are up 111% over Q3 of 2019 but down 4% from Q2 of 2020
• Tequila registrations are up 87% over Q3 of 2019 and up 9% from Q2 of 2020
• Vodka registrations are up 95% over Q3 of 2019 and up 63% from Q2 of 2020
• Whiskey registrations (which makes up 36% of all spirits registrations) are 29% from Q3 of 2019 and up 26% from Q2 of 2020

Beer

Beer continues to decline in product registrations when compared to 2019. However, Q3 had an 11% increase over Q2 of this year. For flavored malts—which saw a large increase earlier this year—registrations were up 5% over 2019 but down 18% from the previous quarter, Q2. 

Wine

Wine has experienced more tempered changes this quarter. Wine registrations are down from last year, but only by 5% and when compared to Q2 registrations, saw a 3% increase. Rosé in particular had a large decrease in registrations from Q2, down 22% but no change when compared to Q3 of 2019. Sparkling wine had a significant drop—a 33% decrease from Q3 of 2019 and a 4% decrease from the previous quarter.

This year has proven difficult to predict what trends and patterns will emerge. As we continue through fall and into winter, it will be interesting to see the data for spirits, wine and beer —including how seasonal and limited edition releases will affect registrations in the new quarter. 

Learn how PRO enables fast, easy electronic brand filings for beer, wine and spirits in participating states.