USA
The Total Beverage Alcohol market in the USA is continuing to exhibit soft trends.
Economic uncertainty has led to consumers prioritising essential goods and value-driven purchases, both within and beyond beverage alcohol. However, fundamentals for the spirits category remain strong, offering encouragement for the longer-term outlook.
- The Legal Drinking Age (LDA) population is growing steadily and is expected to increase by 15% by 2050(1).
- Spirits continue to take share from beer and wine; now 42% of the Total Beverage Alcohol (TBA) in value vs 35% 10 years ago(2).
- Cocktails are thriving, with cordials and RTDs having more than doubled in size over the last three years and still growing by almost 20% YoY(3).
The now established “drink less, but better” consumption pattern plays right into Pernod Ricard’s unwavering focus and competitive advantage of premiumisation.
We believe economic-induced moderation reflects cyclical rather than structural patterns, while lifestyle-informed changes in consumption (led conspicuously by Gen Z) present opportunities to capture new consumers as the LDA population grows.
Key brand highlights
Jameson continues to be a relevant brand in the U.S. market. In Q3 it outperformed its competitive set in value growth, reflecting the pricing decisions we have made and the cultural momentum we are building, including as lead spirits partner of Major League Soccer. We have also reignited excitement behind Jameson Black Barrel with new packaging and a strong media push. And our launch of Jameson Triple Triple during St. Patrick’s Day is showing promising traction.
Absolut is having its strongest moment since its acquisition in 2008. Being named Time Magazine’s “America’s #1 Spirit Brand” and one of Newsweek Magazine’s “America’s Most Loved Brands 2025” reaffirms its growing brand equity in this market.
We’ve seen real momentum behind RTDs - particularly our Ocean Spray Vodka Cranberry, which exceeded first-year expectations. And the newest additions to our Ready-to-Serve lineup - Absolut Cosmo and Espresso Martini - are off to a flying start.
And finally, Kahlúa has become one of our top-performing brands, growing 5% in value over Q3.
FOCUSING ON BEST-IN-CLASS EXECUTION
This year we underlined our clear commercial focus by stepping up engagement with our wholesalers and making adjustments to our Route-to-Market. We are creating two new commercial divisions, with dedicated wholesaler partnerships to support our RTD business and our portfolio of smaller, niche brands. We also set up a new brand advocacy organisation to increase our presence and visibility in the on-trade channel. Finally, we are continuing to further pursue the digitalisation of our business to optimise marketing investments. Matrix now covers 90% of our prior-to-purchase investment and D-Star is now live across 50 States.