Park Street Companies has teamed with the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) and the International Wine and Spirits Research group (IWSR) to develop and release the Craft Spirits Data Project for a third year.
KEY FINDINGS AND HIGHLIGHTS
- The number of active craft distillers in the U.S. grew by 20.8% over the last year to 1,589 in August 2017.
- The U.S. craft spirits market volume reached 5.8m cases sold in 2016, climbing to an annual growth rate of 18.5%. The market share of U.S. craft spirits reached 2.6% in volume and 3.8% in value in 2016, up from 1.0% (volume)/ 1.2% (value) in 2011 and 2.2% (volume)/3.0% (value) in 2015.
- Exports of U.S. craft spirits grew by 8.8% compared to last year and reached 566,000 cases in 2016, adding more than 8.8% of additional volume to total sales.
- The U.S. craft distilling market is fairly concentrated with nearly 2% of the larger producers being responsible for 57.0% of the cases sold. 92.0% of U.S. craft distilling producers are classified as small producers, responsible for just 12.8% of the cases sold annually.
- On-site direct sales are especially important for small producers where these sales make up 34% of total sales. Out of state business is particularly important for large producers, accounting for more than 58% of total business.
- With craft beer market share currently over 12% in the U.S., the craft spirits market is expected to continue to grow rapidly and overtake this.
- In 2017 industry employment grew 47.8% to almost 19,600 FTEs.
- Investments by the U.S. craft industry have reached close to $600 million in 2017.
Click Here to Download the 2017 Craft Spirits Data Project
PROJECT BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY
The Craft Spirits Data Project © 2017 is a proprietary research project whose goal is to provide a solid and reliable fact base for evaluating performance and trends in the U.S. craft spirits industry. The Craft Spirits Data Project, which was first announced and presented in 2016, is the beverage industry’s first-ever comprehensive craft distilling study. The Project quantifies the number, size, and impact of craft spirits producers in the United States.
Together, the ACSA, Park Street, and the IWSR launched the Craft Spirits Data Project in October, 2015. 2017 data collection began in January, and remained ongoing through August, 2017. The Project collected data primarily from spirits producers (DSPs), distributors and retailers.
The program aims to create a deeper understanding of the U.S. craft spirits landscape among three key groups: DSPs, distributors and retailers. The study collected comprehensive data on craft distiller production size and patterns, sources of revenue, and the category’s overall economic impact within the spirits industry. The Project also collected data on craft spirits business size, patterns and outlook on the distributor level and assess craft spirits business size and outlook by premise type at retail.
When estimating the number of producers behind the U.S. craft spirits production, the project team relies on a combination of official data released by regulatory authorities, survey data, other industry data sources both national (e.g., NABCA, ACSA) and regional (e.g., Guilds), as well as interviews and team assessments using the craft distiller definition.