Master of Malt forecasts top drinks trends for 2020

Online retailer of spirits, beer and wine, Master of Malt unveiled its 2020 trends to watch in drinks eCommerce at an event in The Langham Hotel, London.

Alongside revealing a 23 per cent climb in revenues during 2019, the retailer announced that the fastest growing categories for 2020 include Mezcal, spiced rum and non-Bourbon American whiskies.

The forecasting showed particular excitement around the rise of Mezcal, with a 2019 year-on-year volume growth of 31 per cent versus 2018 and a significant uptake from the 25 per cent increase the year before. A 51 per cent increase was also noted in trade's interest in Mezcal, particularly in the US.

At MoM’s 2019 trending event, it was predicted that rum would have a huge year. It went on to do just that, with a volume growth of 51 per cent over 2018 that has been predominantly pushed on by spiced and flavoured rum.

Although Bourbon has experienced exponential global growth for the past five years, MoM’s data has noted the rise in interest in alternative American whiskies. This has included a 62 per cent increase in sales of rye, corn and single malt, driven by the intrigue surrounding unusual cask types and alternative ageing techniques.

Other areas of growth have included vodka, Calvados and Aquavit, the latter of which is benefitting from distilleries around the world replicating their own versions of the Scandinavian spirit.

“The increased customer interest in more niche categories confirms the general food and drink trend for new experiences,” says Kristiane Sherry, Master of Malt editor. “What’s different for 2020 is the striking move away from more familiar categories, such as Bourbon, into the more fledgling ryes and American single malts, for example.

“Looking to the rest of 2020, tapping into this exploratory nature will be key for harnessing and accelerating growth. With our huge range of genuinely niche and exciting products, we’ll be able to help our trade partners better tap into this, too. We will also use this insight to tailor our content not only to help educate our incredible core of customers, fans and followers, but to continue to boost our SEO and authority rankings, too, which were recently recognised as best in class by analyst Salience.”

30 January 2020 - Phoebe Calver