Total beverage-alcohol dollar sales increased +9.3% during Labor Day weekend compared to the prior week, market research firm IRI reported.
“Total BevAl experienced a moderate uptick versus year ago and strong uptick versus prior week absolute dollar sales driven by Labor Day sales, which suggests consumers continue to embrace at-home celebrations of key holidays/events,” IRI BevAl vertical EVP Scott Scanlon wrote in a report. “Spirits continued to outperform this week, exceeding expectations of beer dominance holiday.”
Dollar sales across beer, wine and spirits reached $1.474 billion for the week ending September 4, which did not include Labor Day itself. This total marked a +2.7% increase compared to the same period last year.
Beer category dollar sales increased +10.2% week-over-week (WoW) and +3% year-over-year (YoY), to $987 million in IRI-tracked channels. Standout segments in the category included non–alcoholic beer (+17% compared to the same period last year) and imports (+13%).
Only the wine category (-1%) declined in dollar sales during the holiday weekend. Dollar sales of spirits increased +7%, with tequila (+10%) outpacing the category.
Top beer category growth brand families include Constellation Brands’ Modelo family (+24.7%, to $92.7 million) – whose “brand dominance sees no slowdown” – followed by Constellation’s Corona family (+8.4%, to $68.1 million), Boston Beer’s Twisted Tea (+39.9%, to $21 million), Lion Little World’s New Belgium (+29.5%, to $9.1 million), Constellation’s Pacifico (+61.1%, to $7 million) and Molson Coors’ Topo Chico Hard Seltzer (+123.9%, to $5.69 million).
The broader hard seltzer segment recorded dollar sales declines of -6.5% compared to last year, driven by wine-based seltzer (-35.5%), followed by malt-based seltzer (-11.7%). Sprits-based hard seltzer increased off-premise dollar sales +87.7% YoY and +25.8% WoW. Both wine-based (+16.6%) and malt-based (+11.9%) seltzers recorded WoW growth for the holiday weekend.
Among beer-centric hard seltzers, segment leader Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw eked out YoY growth (+1.1%), but Boston Beer’s Truly Hard Seltzer, the segment’s second largest brand, recorded a -22% decline compared to the same week last year.
Anheuser Busch InBev’s Bud Light Seltzer (No. 3) posted dollar sales declines of -20.2%. Molson Coors claimed the No. 4 and No. 5 best-selling hard seltzer brands with Topo Chico and Vizzy Hard Seltzer (-25.2%).
Spirits-based seltzer segment leader High Noon Sun Sips (E. & J. Gallo) outpaced the segment with +94.3% dollar sales growth, to $8.54 million for the week ending September 4, followed by BuzzBallz (+39.5%, to $3.2 million) and A-B’s Cutwater Spirits (+47.7%, to $2.8 million).