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# Beverage Alcohol – Are Gen Z or Baby Boomers the Problem?
- URL: https://bevnews.net/beverage-alcohol-are-gen-z-or-baby-boomers-the-problem/
- Published: 2026-08-19T01:57:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-19T01:57:19.000Z
- Author: Joel Whitaker

Jon Moramarco, who runs the superb analytical shop **bw166,** has come out with a new edition of [his newsletter](https://us8.campaign-archive.com/?e=f9a65c1e05&u=4a4af519c308bbeb951044f48&id=6d50433fe6&ref=bevnews.net) exploring the above topic. Frankly, it's worth a read by every member of the beverage alcohol industry.

His bottom line conclusions are that the problem isn't that the percent of Americans who are not drinking has risen – it has stayed about the same once people reach legal drinking age – bur rather that people are drinking less often, and when they do drink, they drink less. 

This is a case of beware of what you wish for. Years ago, Duncan Cameron, who at the time ran the Comms shop at the **Distilled Spirits Council of the United States** told me he had done some calculations and concluded American distilled would make even more money if people drank less but better.

The alcohol beverage industry bought that theory hook, line and sinker and called it premiumization. In general super-premium and higher brands are selling well, manufacturers have cut back on high-volume, low-priced brands and we've been reporting what NIQ finds every week – across the board, both volume and dollar sales continue to decline.

To reverse current trends, Moramarco says, "the industry needs to convince consumers to enjoy beverage alcohol on more occasions and to increase their servings per occasion."

Moramarco is calling for a completely new playbook. He notes that over the last 30 years "the industry has mainly focused on taking share between categories, while servings entering the market have grown in line with the population of legal drinkers."

But now, consumption is declining. The last time the industry saw declines in consumption was in the 1980s, This is not the 1980s. Back then the industry didn't face "competition from other beverages such as Energy drinks, functional beverages, THC-based beverages etc. The industry needs to recapture occasions from other beverages, not just take share from other beverage alcohol categories."

Not only do consumers have more beverages to choose from, but they also have more "demands or opportunities for their disposable income or discretionary spending such as online gaming. The industry," Moramarco says, "needs to fight for a higher share of discretionary spending."

And then there's negative press tied to health concerns. That negative press remains highly visible and, based on our experience, largely goes unanswered. When we report a negative study, we routinely reach out to the three major bev/al trade associations. Only DISCUS routinely has a response to whatever negative conclusion is being drawn. Beer Institute and Wine Institute remain silent.

Moramarco notes the stakes here: "Tied to health, it is becoming more acceptable that a woman can have one drink a day, a man two drinks a day and no more than four or five days a week. This means a couple should not enjoy a bottle of wine over dinner. (Emphasis added).

"Accepting these consumption levels will insure a continued decline in the overall industry," Moramarco says.

**Comment:** This gets directly into my area of expertise. In addition to producing Kane's Beverage News Daily, I teach communications and public relations at the No. 1 community college in Maryland (and 19th in the U.S.), according to a just-released [WalletHub](https://wallethub.com/edu/e/states-with-best-worst-community-college-systems/15073?ref=bevnews.net) study. My area of academic interest is propaganda. 

One of the most fundamental propaganda techniques is to repeat a charge often enough that people believe it must be true. Most people don't know how to verify the truth of the World Health Organization's claim that one drink of alcohol could result in a person dying of cancer. Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) was fond of saying, "A charge unswered is a charge admitted." False charges must be challenged every time they appear.