PPB November 2020

Toast each special occasion with these 13.5-ounce red wine glasses . Packaged in a set of four, these crystal glasses, goblet and stem, are manufactured in one piece, making them extremely shatter- resistant and awlessly smooth to hold with no joints or seams. Food-safe and scratch-resistant, the crystal is made in Italy and tinted in Germany with a water-based, organic color. Shown in smoke, the glass color is dishwasher-safe for 3,000 cycles. KleerWest, LLC PPAI 601859, S4 www.kleerwest.com Clink, Clink In the U.S., bars and restaurants were among the rst to close during the pandemic. In September, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, continued to urge Americans to stay out of bars as coronavirus diagnoses and deaths steadily rose. Regardless, alcohol sales have increased with Zoom happy hours and “wine o’clock” memes testifying to the new thirsty habit of many consumers. For the week ending on March 21, sales of alcoholic beverages spiked by 55 percent, according to Nielsen data. Nationally, tequila sales rose the most, up more than 75 percent, followed by gin and wine sales, which were up by 66 percent. Sales are dominated by off-premise retailers, especially those that sell alcohol online. In a June Nielsen report, sales of at-home or off-premise alcohol jumped by 27 percent since the start of the pandemic. Drizly, an alcohol ecommerce platform operating across the U.S. and Canada, saw a 300-percent rise in sales. Online spirits sales were up by 243 percent during the week of March 21. Winc, a direct- to-consumer wine club, saw a 578-percent increase in new member sign-ups during the same week. On-premise sales of alcohol, however, took a deep nosedive. During the pandemic, 85 percent to 95 percent of bars and over 80 percent of dine-in restaurants closed. And an estimated 20 percent of all bars and restaurants won’t reopen, according to Guggenheim. The U.S. alcohol market, according to a Nielsen investigation, will need a growth of 22 percent in all alcohol categories sold off-premise to at least smooth out the impact of shuttered bars and restaurants. Promotional drinkware, such as wine glasses, Koozies ® and bar sets can help balance the effect of COVID-19 on alcohol sales. Stemless wine glasses are all the rage. Perfect for college grad, teacher and bachelorette gifts, stemless wineglasses are made for customization. The stemless wine glass offers a less formal wine- drinking experience, free from the fear of breaking a delicate stemmed glass. From large pottery vessels of wine in ancient Greece to the birth of modern glassware in the 1700s, the evolution of the wine glass has only served to enhance the overall drinking experience. For example, the bowl-shaped glass is meant to direct the aromas to one’s nose and aerate the wine properly, and the stem prevents the hands’ body heat from altering the temperature of the wine. According to Forbes , although customers age 55 and up are the largest group of regular wine drinkers, Millennials are driving premium wine sales, spending more per bottle than their parents. In 2015, Millennials drank 42 percent of all wine consumed in the U.S., according to Business Insider. Millennials are predicted to surpass Gen- Xers as the biggest ne wine drinking generation by 2026 with 75 percent saying if they had more money to spend on wine, they would. While the spike in alcohol sales can be attributed to stockpiling during the lockdown, an increase in consumption or a combination of the two, drinking more can have a negative impact on consumers’ immune systems, a critical function during a pandemic. As consumers and businesses alike try to nd a healthy balance, be ready with unique, customizable drinkware that can “sip” with the best of them. Jules_Kitano / Shutterstock.com. | NOVEMBER 2020 | 49 GROW