The return of warm weather means exciting seasonal beer and wine products and promotions.
When it comes to beverage alcohol, summer is truly sizzling. Suppliers and retailers can leverage the hot season to sell more of the quaffs that consumers love, linking the products to holidays, entertaining and unique events.
Foremost among summer beverage alcohol selections are beer and wine.
"Beer sales surge from May through early September, along with sales and rosé and crisp white wines."
– Jeff Cox
Jeff Cox, wine buyer at Seattle-based PCC Natural Markets, which operates 11 cooperative grocery stores in Washington state and carries a "thoughtfully chosen" selection of wines, beers and ciders spotlighting Northwest producers. "Reds continue to sell, driven by bright, accessible wines that work well with al fresco barbecue-oriented dishes."
In consequence, the company devotes "a greater percentage of ad activity...to beer and cider, while white and pink wines drive the wine side. In storewide promotions, we emphasize items that pair well with seasonal dishes."
As for which beers are most popular in summer, Cox sees "pale ale and pilsner enjoying a resurgence, while many brewers are now producing lighter-style traditional 'lawn-mower' beers at lower prices than their frontline offerings."
Whatever the style, when the mercury rises, a frosty beer is especially welcome. In fact, Nuno Teles, chief marketing officer at White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA, goes so far as to assert, "Summertime is beer time!"
– Article by Bridget Goldschmidt, Progressive Grocer
