This week, bars and restaurants across the globe are taking part in Negroni Week, an initiative led by Imbibe Magazine and Campari to celebrate the classic Negroni while raising considerable amounts of money for charity. With over 12,000 venues taking part, the week-long global initiative is highlighting the soaring popularity of the Negroni. To accompany the buzz and excitement around Negroni Week in the on-premise, Nielsen CGA has shared exclusive data around the Negroni consumers driving the demand for this classic bitter cocktail.
According to NCGA’s On-Premise User Survey (OPUS), Negroni consumers are both young and affluent, with a tendency to spend more in the on-premise. In terms of spend, Negroni drinkers pay out average of $237 a month toward eating and drinking out – twice as much as the $117 average among all US consumers, and earn $20,000 a year more than the all-consumer average. Having more disposable income, these drinkers also tend to also be more prolific in their On Premise activity, with 53% drinking out weekly and 87% eating out weekly.
Despite celebrating its 100th year, NCGA’s OPUS research also reveals that the classic Negroni is enjoyed by a relatively young demographic – a key target for most bar and restaurant operators. More than a third of them (36%) are aged 25 to 34 – twice the figure for the US as a whole (18%). They are sociable too, with three quarters (77%) going for a meal with friends, 21 percentage points up on the average.
For a wide range of bars and restaurants, this suggests a sizeable opportunity to increase revenue simply by adding Negronis to the menu. These drinkers are much more likely to pay more for quality, with nearly half (47%) saying they base their cocktail purchasing decisions on the quality of spirits available – compared to just a quarter (25%) of the US-wide consumer average.
Being strategic with Negroni offers, such as during happy hour, can also help bars and restaurants increase revenue with this premium classic cocktail: Nielsen CGA’s Check Level Insights Pool (CLIP) data reveals that the early evening is the best time to advertise the Negroni, as checks that contain the classic cocktail are worth $22.87 more on average VS mid-afternoon.
Considering the opportunity that the Negroni brings to the On Premise, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of bars are adopting the Negroni in recent years. But as the data suggests, there is still plenty of headroom for growth: by targeting affluent young professionals in particular, focusing sharply on the premium end of the cocktail market and innovating with new variations or ingredients, bars and restaurants could well use Negroni Week as a springboard for substantial new sales (all the while supporting a charitable cause). Commenting on this phenomenon, Nielsen CGA’s Client Solutions Director Matthew Crompton said,
For many bars and restaurants, increasing footfall is the main objective in their day to day operations. Cocktail events such as Negroni Week represent an excellent opportunity for suppliers and distributors to work in tandem with retailers to achieve this.
Cocktails can be extremely profitable for the On-Premise – when done correctly, they can give the consumer a memorable experience that is difficult to recreate at home. Understanding Negroni sales by channel, region and even day-part can unlock monetizable insights into this ever-growing category.
Negroni Week runs until Monday (30 June). More than 12,000 venues around the world are taking part in promotions and events over the week, all of them raising money for charities supported by the initiative.
