According to a CREST foodservice market research report for the NPD group, the consumption of alcoholic beverages in Australian food service venues has declined by approximately24 per cent over the six years to June 2016.

After a two-year decline, beer servings are now at a four-year low. Red wine servings have declined by one third and white wine by 25 per cent. Servings of cocktails, mixed drinks and spirits have halved by volume.

In a contrary trend, the category sparkling/other wine saw modest growth.

Full service restaurants (FSR) capture the largest share of alcohol servings – one in three meals – whereas only 2 per cent of meal occasions in quick service restaurants (QSR) include alcohol.

The steady long-term growth of alcohol servings with meals in the small fast casual sector suggests that QSR outlets may be well placed to take advantage of consumer demand for alcohol with meals to increase the average eater cheque.

Related articles:

• Food and beverage trends and predictions for 2013 – AFN’s Big Picture
• Drinks trends predictions in US for 2013-2014
• Snapshot of Australian food prices and consumer and household expenditure on food

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