07/10/2026
Beer & Spirits in ‘Stable’ Decline as Wine Losses Accelerate Ahead of July 4, per NIQ Weekly Scans
Wine appears to be the first category to not make it out of the group stages during this year’s FIFA World Cup.
Source: https:// www. brewbound.com/
July 10, 2026
The category’s year-over-year (YoY) declines accelerated in the four-week period (L4W) ending June 27, following the start of the international soccer tournament, as well as a three-day weekend due to the observance of Juneteenth. Wine dollar sales in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels declined 4.5%, while volume, measured in case sales, declined 6.2% – the steepest declines across all bev-alc during the four-week period, according to the market research firm’s latest weekly report.
Meanwhile, prepared cocktails continue to be a World Cup favorite. The category – which includes flavored malt beverages (FMBs), hard seltzers and spirits- and wine-based ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs) – was once again the only bev-alc category to record YoY dollar sales growth in the latest four-week period (dollar sales +1.2%), while volume declined 4.1%.
Both spirits (dollar sales -3.9%, volume -4%) and beer (dollar sales -3.5%, volume -5%) continued to record YoY losses, but improved some trends compared to the prior four-week period: spirits dollar sales -5.2% YoY, volume -4.7% in the L4W ending June 20; beer dollar sales -3.7%, volume -4.5%.
Total bev-alc dollar sales declined 3.1%, to $8.8 billion in the L4W, while volume declined 4.9%, to 173.3 million cases. Week-over-week (WoW), dollar sales declined 2.2%, which NIQ attributed to “demand normalizing” after the prior week’s celebrations.
“Everything considered, latest total alcohol trends underscore the fragility of the industry, with performance heavily dependent on seasonal and event driven influences to usurp broader challenges,” NIQ wrote. “Prepared cocktails stand firm in positive territory, swaying much less than the unstable core categories, while wine is the biggest lagger in the industry. Spirits may have found a near-term pocket of resilience, joining beer in some form of stable declines, both supported by FIFA viewership and summer led drinking opportunities.”
Retail channel performances have fluctuated several times through the first half of 2026. While grocery stores led bev-alc declines in the prior four-week period, convenience led YoY losses in the latest report, across both dollar sales (-4%) and volume (-6.7%).
Grocery recorded the next largest dollar sales declines (dollar sales -3.1%, volume -4.6%), while mass retail recorded the second-largest YoY volume losses (dollar sales -2.3%, volume -4.8%).
Other channel performances included:
Liquor, dollar sales -2.8%, volume -3.9%;
Club, dollar sales +0.2%, volume +2.1%;
All others (including drug, military and dollar stores), dollar sales +0.2%, volume +3.3%.
Within beer, three segments recorded YoY growth in the L4W:
Domestic super premium, L4W dollar sales +2.1%, volume +1.9% (YTD dollar sales +2.7%, volume +2.4%);
Hard cider, L4W dollar sales +1.9%, volume +0.4% (YTD dollar sales +3.7%, volume +2.1%);
And non-alcoholic (NA) beer, L4W dollar sales +11%, volume +9% (YTD dollar sales +9.2%, volume +8.3%.
All other beer segments recorded YoY declines, which continued to be steeper than YTD trends, including:
Below premium, L4W dollar sales -4.8%, volume -6.8% (YTD dollar sales -2.1%, volume -3.9%);
Craft, L4W dollar sales -5.8%, volume -6.7% (YTD dollar sales -4.2%, volume -5.3%);
Domestic premium, L4W dollar sales -7.5%, volume -8.6% (YTD dollar sales -6.3%, volume -7.4%);
And imports, L4W dollar sales -1.2%, volume -2.1% (YTD dollar sales -1.1%, volume -2.2%).
The top five beer manufacturers by absolute dollar sales in the L4W included:
Anheuser-Busch InBev [A-B] (dollar sales -4% YoY);
Constellation Brands (-0.4%);
Molson Coors (-6.1%);
Heineken USA (-7.2%);
And Kirin-owned New Belgium (+6.4%).
New Belgium – which includes sales from sibling brands such as Bell’s in the above number – recorded the largest dollar sales growth in the period, followed by:
Diageo (+6.6%);
Sapporo (+23.6%);
Athletic Brewing (+8%);
And Asahi Beer USA (+44.7%).
The top growth brands in the L4W remained unchanged from the prior four-week period, and included:
A-B’s Michelob (+4%);
Constellation’s Pacifico (+18.2%);
New Belgium, excluding sibling brands (+8%);
Constellation’s Victoria (+14.9%);
And Garage Beer (+39.5%).
Within prepared cocktails, three segments recorded YoY growth in the L4W:
Wine-based RTDs, L4W dollar sales +8%, volume +2.5% (YTD dollar sales +13.9%, volume +10.2%);
Spirits-based RTDs, L4W dollar sales +26.2%, volume +26.3% (YTD dollar sales +32.8%, volume +32.6%);
And spirits-based ready-to-serve cocktails (RTS), L4W dollar sales +2.4%, volume -7.3% (YTD dollar sales -3%, volume -7.2%);
Meanwhile, FMBs (dollar sales -9.9%, volume -12%) and hard seltzers (dollar sales -7.3%, volume -9.3%) remained in the red, with steeper losses than YTD trends: FMB YTD dollar sales -7.3%, volume -9.4%; hard seltzer YTD dollar sales -4.6%, volume -6.7%.
The top prepared cocktail manufacturers by absolute dollar sales in the L4W included:
Mark Anthony Brands (-2.6%);
Boston Beer Company (-6.9%);
A-B (+34.6%);
Gallo (-5.4%);
And Diageo (+1.1%).
The top manufacturers by YoY dollar sales growth in the period included:
A-B;
Stateside Brands (+69.4%);
Sazerac (+7.7%);
Moët Hennessy USA (+11,393.6%);
And Suntory Global Spirits (+9.7%).
Moët Hennessy’s outsized percentage is due to minimal comps for its RTD brand in 2025.
Meanwhile, the top growth brands in the L4W included:
A-B’s Cutwater (+121.3%);
Stateside’s Surfside (+52.3%);
Boston Beer’s Sun Cruiser (+93.9%);
Sazerac’s BuzzBallz (+13.7%);
And Stateside’s Super Lyte (+81,161%).
Super Lyte is a new entrant to the growth list. The vodka-based hard sports drink brand had minimal sales in 2025 as it was being tested, with an official launch not occurring until earlier this year. The brand depleted 120,000 cases in its first five weeks following its official launch, and is targeting 1.5 million for the full year, Stateside CEO and co-founder Clement Pappas shared in April.
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