British millennials: what are they drinking?

Targetting “millennials” is a common theme among brand owners in the drinks industry, but how much does this consumer group actually spend on BWS, and what do they like?

Millennials spend 2.8% of their drinks budget on Prosecco, according to Nielsen.

Following a piece of research by marketing data analyst Nielsen, we bring you some facts about millennials, which are classified as people born between 1980 and 2000, or shoppers who are currently aged between 18 and 34.

According to Nielsen, millennials represent around 14% of the population of Great Britain, although they account for less than 5% of total beers, wines and spirits (BWS) sales in the country, meaning that the group’s total outlay on drinks is £482 million.

With a spend of around 3.5% of their total FMCG budget on alcoholic drinks, millennials devote a much smaller proportion of their income on BWS than older age groups, and less than half the share of the entire population, which spends 9.2% of their FMCG budget on booze (Nielsen Homescan Data to WE 11.10.15).

In terms of their drinks preferences, Millennials are more likely to buy white or sparkling wine – particularly Prosecco – than spirits or beer, although they have a penchant for US whiskey.

You can see some of millennials’ tastes and traits over the following pages.

Picture credit: uk.askmen.com

Millennials pay great attention to their health, and their primary aim is to very carefully maintain their bodies in good condition. Following this, making money is their greatest aspiration.

Millennials go out regularly, with 60% eating out at least once a week and 30% as much as three times weekly or more.

Millennials rely on internet search engines more than any other age category to get their news, although Nielsen notes that millennials are “very distracted”, and only 15% remember the brands that feature in TV advertisements.

Millennials spend 3.5% of their total FMCG budget on beers, wines and spirits, representing £482m, less than 5% of category sales (and declining, according to Nielsen). This proportion is much lower than the national total – overall, Brits spend 9.2% of their FMCG budget on alcoholic drinks.

Millennials spend more on wine than any other alcoholic drinks category – it accounts for 34% of their expenditure, and rising.

Spirits is the second biggest drinks category for millennials, taking over from beer, according to Nielsen. The growth in spirits consumption is being driven by products from Jack Daniel’s as millennials spend three times more than the average Britain on the American whiskey category.

Finally, millennials spend 2.8% of their budget on Prosecco according to Nielsen. They are 1.5 times more likely to buy the Italian sparkling than the average Brit, although millennials account for just 7.5% of total Prosecco sales in the country.

And if you want to find out exactly how “millennial” you are, you can take this survey here.