Gen Z is Raising the Bar
Gen Z is said to be drinking less than generations before it, choosing mindful, health-focused, and transparent brands. Their habits are reshaping alcohol culture toward wellness and authenticity.
To better understand this consumer demographic, Attest ran a study on its platform. In the article, “Gen Z alcohol trends 2025: What 1,000 young consumers told us,” Attest examined the results. It has been a notable shift. Gen Z has grown up in a time when health, wellness, and social awareness are at the forefront of public discourse, Attest notes, and this has influenced their relationship with alcohol, leading many to consume less, abstain, and be open to choosing alcohol-free alternatives. Some highlights from the Gen Z study:
- 3 in 5 drink rarely or not at all: 21.5% of Gen Z does not consume alcohol, and 39% drink only occasionally.
- Health concerns are a key factor in abstaining, with 34% citing mental health and 46% simply not being interested.
- At-home drinking dominates: 65% drink at home and 27% at friends’ houses.
- Popular drink choices include spirits, beer, and wine, with hard seltzers (36.25%) and ready-to-drink beverages (42.97%) gaining traction.
- Transparency matters: 47.5% want calorie and ingredient info, and 52% would boycott brands misaligned with their values.
- Taste, price, and individuality are also important factors when purchasing alcohol.
Tapping into Cultural Ecosystems
During TMRE @ Home, Tara Goutermout, Senior Manager Consumer Planning & Insights at Diageo, will hold the session, “From Static Brands to Cultural Ecosystems: What Gen Z Expects from Alcohol Brands Now.”
For years, the industry has been obsessed with fixing the marketing funnel Gen Z supposedly “broke.” But the real disruption isn’t happening in campaign planning or media optimization—it’s happening upstream, in the very foundations of brand building. As younger LDA consumers rewrite the rules of cultural participation, identity, discovery, and trust, the traditional brand-building model is no longer fit for purpose.
Diageo (home to Guinness, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Don Julio and Crown Royal) felt this shift acutely in the $30 billion ready-to-drink alcohol category. As new formats surge, the challenge wasn’t simply how to market to younger drinkers, but how to build brands that make sense in their world.
The team embarked on a multi-layered journey to understand what it truly takes to build and reimagine brands for a new generation of alcohol consumers. The approach blended AI-driven opportunity mapping with deep cultural ethnography:
• Diageo’s proprietary AI tools surfaced opportunity spaces and knowledge gaps.
• Secondary research spanned academic papers, proprietary studies, and cultural commentary.
• Expert IDIs brought in disruptive voices—from Liquid Death’s co-founder to cultural thinkers like Dr. Marcus Collins.
• A final wave of “everyday” Gen Z interviews ensured the insights reflected real diversity beyond big-city-dwelling, leading-edge influencers.
What emerged is a portrait of a generation acting as investigators—scrutinizing brands, interrogating promises, and demanding honesty, fluidity, and multi-dimensional narratives. Static brand models no longer resonate; Gen Z expects brands to behave like living ecosystems with multiple entry points, co-created meaning, and genuine cultural contribution.
The project culminated in an evidence-based cultural brand-building framework and a five-step process designed to run alongside Diageo’s proprietary brand model, reshaping communications, innovation, distribution, and influence strategies. Outputs were built in close collaboration with Diageo teams and delivered in bold, highly-visual formats to match the expectations of modern audiences.
This session reveals what it really takes to build brands for a generation that rejects empty purpose, demands meaningful contribution, and chooses brands not just for presence, but for value.
Click here for more information about TMRE @ Home.
An Era of Mindful Consumption
Brands are already adapting to Gen Z drinking preference as they aim to capture their slice of this market. In essence, brand building has become more about approaching it around a cultural ecosystem, as Diageo terms it, to give consumers a chance to discover and engage with their brand of choice. These brands are created in partnership with these communities, not just targeted.
Attest recommends that brands focus on health and transparency, less frequent drinkers, at-home drinking experiences, and in-store marketing and personalization.
“Gen Z’s relationship with alcohol is emblematic of a larger cultural shift toward mindfulness, health, and social responsibility,” notes Attest. “As Gen Z continues to influence social norms and consumer behaviors, the alcohol industry and society at large will need to adapt to this new era of mindful consumption.”
Video: “Why Gen Z and Millennials are drinking less than past generations,” courtesy of CBS Mornings.
