The US craft beer segment was down 4.8% in dollars in 2022, says Scott Scanlon, executive vice president, beval vertical at Circana (formally Information Resources Inc. (IRI).
According to an article in the Emalt.com newsletter, for the 52 week period ending Jan. 1, 2023, craft beer sales totaled $4.7 billion, a 4.8% decrease, in off-premise multi-outlets. Case sales were down 8.6% during that timeframe.
Another confirmation of this came this week via the National Beer Wholesalers Association‘s (NBWA) March 2023 Beer Purchaser’ Index (BPI) which showed the craft index at 28. A reading greater than 50 indicates the segment is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates the segment is contracting. This indicates the craft segment is continuing to contract and is below the March 2022 reading of 47.
The index for imports continues to point to expanding volumes with a reading of 62.