Dollar sales of alcoholic beverage mixers declined from 2009-14, settling at $316 million. While cocktail culture is in full swing, cocktails experience lower consumption than beer, wine, and spirits. Mixers struggle with a largely Millennial consumer base willing to spend a little more per drink on-premise to avoid the cost, hassle, and learning curve that comes with making drinks at home. Playing off consumer interest in customization (strength, calories) and moving mixers away from cloying neon libations, toward aides for making heritage drinks with natural ingredients and complex flavors (spicy, savory, bitter) will be important in growing sales.

This report includes retail sales of non-alcoholic mixers typically added to alcohol to make alcoholic cocktails and mixed drinks. Products include “just add alcohol” mixes designed for specific cocktails (eg Bloody Mary mix, Margarita mix), as well as non-alcoholic mixers that are traditionally positioned for use with alcohol to make cocktails (eg bitters, grenadine). Products covered include liquid (refrigerated, shelf stable, and frozen) and powdered mixes. The report also covers on- and off-premise sales of cordials, liqueurs, vermouth, and aperitifs.

The report will be segmented as follows, with two different market sizes:

• Dollar sales of alcoholic beverage mixers

• Volume sales of cordials, liqueurs, vermouth, and aperitifs

This report excludes the following categories, covered in other Mintel reports:

• RTD (ready-to-drink) prepared cocktail (covered in RTD Alcoholic Beverages – US, December 2014)

• Carbonated soft drinks, seltzer, tonic water, club soda (covered in Carbonated Soft Drinks – US, June 2014)

• Juice (covered in Juice, Juice Drinks and Smoothies – US, November 2014)

This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Wine – US, October 2014 and previous editions published in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, as well as earlier titles; and Mintel’s Alcohol Consumption at Home – US, May 2013.