Drinking Consumer Insights

Trend - Whisky producers are highlighting historic distilleries, traditional production methods, archival releases, and provenance to reinforce craftsmanship and legacy. By elevating their origins, they create premium offerings that deepen consumer trust and emotional connection.

Insight - Mature consumers increasingly gravitate toward premium whiskies that embody history and enduring craftsmanship rather than fleeting trends. Heritage offers reassurance of quality while creating a deeper emotional connection to the product—transforming provenance and legacy into meaningful differentiators. As a result, brands can reinforce authenticity, elevate perceived value, and cultivate lasting loyalty.

Trend - Brands are introducing dessert-inspired sodas that translate familiar sweet treats into sparkling beverages—from flavors such as frozen desserts to dirty soda varieties, these sodas reimagine indulgent desserts as refreshing drinks that encourage flavor exploration and limited-time trial.

Insight - As consumers increasingly seek novelty and nostalgic indulgence, familiar desserts are becoming a source of inspiration across beverage innovation. Dessert-inspired sodas satisfy demand for playful, recognizable flavors while offering a lighter, more refreshing alternative to traditional desserts. For brands, this approach can create opportunities to generate excitement through seasonal launches, limited editions, and highly shareable flavor experiences.

Trend - Nostalgic frozen beverages are expanding into portable cans and freezer-ready pouches that make classic slushie experiences easier to enjoy beyond convenience store machines. As a result, familiar treats are becoming more accessible across everyday, on-the-go occasions.

Insight - While consumers continue to seek nostalgic flavors and familiar brand experiences, they also expect products that integrate seamlessly into busy, on-the-go lifestyles. Pocket slushies can address this shift by translating classic frozen beverages into portable, easy-to-store formats that can be enjoyed at home, during travel, or outdoors—combining recognizable taste experiences with packaging innovations that better align with modern convenience.

Trend - Coffee creamer brands are introducing flavors inspired by popular desserts, translating cakes, pastries, cookies and treats into everyday coffee additions; transforming routine coffee occasions into more indulgent and sensory experiences while expanding on excusive flavor offerings.

Insight - As consumers continue seeking small, affordable indulgences, dessert-inspired flavors provide a way to recreate premium café experiences at home without significantly increasing spending. This appeal is particularly strong among Gen Z and Millennials, who are drawn to nostalgic and shareable food experiences that extend beyond traditional beverages. As such, coffee creamers are evolving from simple functional additions into products that deliver novelty, personalization, and everyday enjoyment.

Trend - As premium spirits brands compete for attention, tequila brands are creating immersive pop-ups, interactive installations, and destination-style experiences that transform product discovery into cultural exploration and participatory entertainment.

Insight - As consumers become more selective about where they invest their time and attention, traditional advertising and product sampling alone are often insufficient to create lasting engagement. In response, tequila brands are developing immersive experiences that blend hospitality, education, entertainment, and storytelling to deepen consumer connections. By creating memorable destinations, brands can transform tequila from a product to be consumed into an experience to be explored.

Trend - As consumers seek more enjoyable ways to meet their nutritional goals, brands are introducing sparkling and bubbly protein beverages that combine functional benefits with flavor variation. As a result, protein is evolving beyond traditional shakes into a refreshing, everyday beverage experience.

Insight - Despite growing awareness of protein's role in health and wellness, many consumers find traditional protein formats too heavy, chalky, or tied to intense fitness routines. Sparkling and bubbling protein drinks can address these barriers by pairing high-protein formulations with the light, refreshing qualities of carbonated beverages. Thus, creating a more approachable consumption experience that feels less like a supplement and more like a lifestyle beverage.

Trend - QSR brands are increasingly introducing limited-edition collectible cups featuring nostalgic designs, brand anniversaries, and entertainment partnerships—transforming beverage packaging into keepsakes that encourage repeat purchases and consumer engagement.

Insight - As consumers seek deeper connections with brands, packaging is becoming a larger part of the brand experience. By creating packaging that consumers want to collect and share, QSR brands can generate social buzz while strengthening brand affinity, serving as both a functional item and a powerful brand touchpoint. As such, collectible cups may appeal to consumers' desire for nostalgia, exclusivity, and self-expression, transforming routine purchases into memorable experiences.

Trend - Beverage brands are drawing on classic American visuals such as patriotic color palettes, vintage typography, and iconography to create packaging that feels familiar and authentic; transforming cans and bottles into storytelling tools that evoke cultural identity.

Insight - Consumers continuously seek authenticity in homogenized retail environments—gravitating toward products that feel rooted in culture, place, and history. By modernizing vintage visual cues, brands can create a sense of familiarity while remaining relevant to contemporary audiences. This approach helps to foster emotional connections through nostalgia, and gives consumers a tangible way to express personal values and cultural affinities through the products they choose and share.

Trend - Food, beverage, and QSR brands are incorporating customizable illustrations, colorable graphics, and participatory design elements into product exteriors to encourage hands-on engagement and personal expression; resulting in packaging that functions as an experiential touchpoint.

Insight - As consumers increasingly seek hands-on, screen-free activities and more meaningful interactions, brands are reimagining packaging as a creative engagement tool rather than a purely functional container. By incorporating colorable and participatory design elements, brands can extend engagement beyond the point of purchase—transforming food and beverage packaging into a memorable experience that strengthens emotional connections while supporting creativity in a simple, yet effective way.

Trend - Alcohol companies are incorporating mango into cocktails, RTD beverages, and spirits to introduce fruit-forward flavor profiles with broad consumer appeal. By pairing tropical fruit with alcoholic formats, brands are creating refreshing beverages suited to social and seasonal drinking occasions.

Insight - Younger drinkers are increasingly seeking alcoholic beverages that feel more experiential and occasion-driven than traditional options; reflecting a broader shift toward flavor exploration and products associated with leisure, travel, and seasonal moments. The growing use of mango addresses this demand by offering a familiar tropical flavor with broad appeal—creating approachable products that align with consumers' desire for flavorful, easy-drinking experiences that deliver novelty.