Grab a favorite beverage and settle in for a lively exploration of today's hottest drink trends. In What's Hot in Beverages, Cargill experts share insights on emerging trends shaping the category, new research and innovations.

There has been a rise in weekly consumption of hot coffee specialties, influenced by the current cost-of-living crisis driving consumers to seek affordable luxuries. Furthermore, there has been an impact from rising prices on luxury-related beverage categories and a shift toward more economical alternatives in the soft drink category.

While the alternative adult beverages market grew by 7.5% a year or 426% in total since 2002, the total beer market has declined more than 5% in total during this period. This disparity underscores the macro movement to these flavored forward, more modern products.

The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, announced the launch of Coca-Cola Lens, an insights platform focused on growth, and designed to empower operators in the foodservice and retail industries to make data-driven decisions. 

Within the beverage industry, AI is being applied to understand consumer behavior, which is expected to lead to more accurate predictions, experts note.

Non-alcohol beer’s presence as substitute for its beer counterparts is helping the category retain consumers as some look to moderate their alcohol consumption.

Premiumization trends have allowed imported beers to resonate with consumers, but with inflation concerns and a potential recession, analysts express caution for the beer segment.

U.S. beer consumers also are showing their openness to change as they explore the beyond beer segments, including hard teas.

The U.S. beer market is experiencing dissecting storylines as portions of the category thrive while others are adapting to changing consumer tastes. Domestic beers remain challenged, but see a boost from super-premium brands.

For the U.S. craft beer market, the difference between retail performance and on-premise sales illustrates how the recovery that craft beer has experienced since the pandemic remains nuanced.