"Alcohol-taste beverages" have been selected as the "one dish of the year", which has become a hot topic for the past year and selects foods that reflect the social situation.
The reason is that due to the influence of the new coronavirus, the handling has increased at restaurants where the provision of alcoholic beverages is restricted.
"One dish of the year" is announced at this time of year by a food information research company based on the number of searches on the Internet and questionnaires to consumers.
This year,
▽ "alcohol-taste beverage" with less than 1% alcohol content,
▽ "insect food"
▽ sweets "Maritozzo" with cream sandwiched between bread,
and
▽ "meal kit" that can cook in a short time are candidates. Was selected for.
And, as a result of the selection, "alcoholic taste drink" was decided as one dish of this year.
This is due to the declaration of an emergency due to the spread of the new corona infection, and while the provision of alcoholic beverages is restricted, many restaurants are now handling non-alcoholic beer and cocktails as drinks to replace alcohol. In addition, beverage manufacturers have introduced new products one after another, and the reason is that they have become established among people who do not drink alcohol.
Mihoko Ienaka of "GourNavi Research Institute" said, "This is the year when the new corona has had a great influence on food culture. Alcoholic beverages have become a new option for both those who like alcohol and those who do not. I think it was. "
Expectations for expanding the non-alcoholic market
The market for "alcoholic-taste beverages" with an alcohol content of less than 1% is expanding due to growing health consciousness and the "demand for nesting" of Corona.
According to the research company "Fuji Keizai", the market size of non-alcoholic products such as beer and cocktails with less than 1% alcohol content and chu-hi is 98.6 billion yen, which is compared with the adult before the spread of the new corona. Is expected to increase by nearly 20%.
Furthermore, it is expected to increase to 116.3 billion yen in 2026, five years later.
Under these circumstances, major beer companies are moving to strengthen the introduction of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol products, which are less frequent than before, in order to respond to the growing demand and the young people's departure from alcohol. ..
Of these, Asahi Breweries has set a goal of increasing the proportion of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol products with an alcohol content of 3.5% or less to 20% by 2025, which is more than three times the sales volume of all beverages. It is listed.
On the other hand, even among restaurants where the infection situation of the new corona has settled down and the number of customers is expected to recover, there is a movement to enhance non-alcoholic and low-alcohol menus in order to meet the needs of customers who want to reduce the amount of alcohol. It has come out.
At the Yakitori restaurant in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, we have introduced a service that allows you to choose from five levels of alcohol content, such as lemons, from 0% to 7%.
As a result, according to the store, the percentage of people who choose non-alcoholic or low-alcohol products for this service is close to 20% of the total.
Yutaro Koga, the manager of the yakitori restaurant, said, "I often get orders from people who don't want to get drunk so much or who have a high health consciousness. The environment surrounding restaurants in Corona has changed significantly, but society will continue to do so. I want to respond to change. "