Expert Predictions for the 2014 Beverage Alcohol Market

This Blog post will highlight some expert beverage alcohol predictions and forecasts for 2014, and cite sources.

Given the global nature of some of the forecasts, I would lend a healthy amount of credence to the predictions — and how they will impact the US — especially with respect to the boost provided by an ever improving US economy.

• The [global] beverage alcohol industry will exceed $1 trillion (USD) in 2014 and is expected to reach nearly $1.2 trillion by 2016 (an increase of over 15% since 2011) — Marketline - www.marketline.com
• Anheuser-Busch InBev will retain its leadership/dominance accounting for some 20% of the market’s volume — Global Industry Analysts, Inc. - www.strategyr.com
• Since contracting in 2009, global beer sales will show an increase in 2014 of 8% (over the five-year period from 2009 to 2014) — Marketline - www.marketline.com  
• New beverage alcohol brands and labels will continue to come to market; however, in the US, the continuing trend will be for beer sales to grow only slightly (about 1%) while wine and spirits will continue to grow at double-digit rates.  — Beverage Information Group - www.bevinfogroup.com  
• The 'explosion' of: — US Beverage Alcohol Forum - www.usdrinksconference.com

- Premium brands and products; Breweries, wineries & distilleries; New beverage products   

The one forecast that emerges from these expert predictions is > GROWTH.

With the preceding growth forecast as a backdrop for what’s in store for 2014, it seems that it is incumbent upon both beverage alcohol suppliers and distributors to:

• Develop and maintain a marketing plan with quantifiable, measurable sales goals, including: Sales increases and Budget dollars sufficient to achieve the goals set by the brands and products.
• Utilize software tools that can track, measure and manage distributor POS initiatives to facilitate retail marketing effectiveness enabling POS materials to get to market faster, be correlated to sales performance, provide placement verification and enable regular reporting throughout the supply chain.
• Dominate in POS marketing.

How OnTrak Software Can Help

OnTrak Software’s mission is to help beverage alcohol distributors Track, Measure and Manage their investments in Point-of-Sale marketing and promotional materials. Distributors know how important high-quality custom beverage menus, sampling events, and permanent POS are in driving wine and spirits sales. But there are challenges!

Wholesalers confirm the following as their top 3 challenges:

1. Their POS Costs and Time-to-Market are out of control
2. They lack information to make better, targeted POS decisions
3. They want to improve supplier relationships in the area of bill-back recovery

OnTrak’s software solutions allow wholesalers to:

• Track and Lower POS Costs- A single point-of-control for POS marketing management to dramatically reduce POS ordering and production expenses
• Speed POS Time-to-Market- A POS workflow system to improve communications, decrease delivery times and provide a competitive advantage
• Increase Supplier Bill-back Recovery - Integrated analysis and reporting tools to deliver accurate information and improve supplier relationships.

For more information about OnTrak Software’s POS Tracking Solutions, please click the following button: