Sake was the biggest loser in the alcohol market, being replaced by the move to drinking at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, statistics show.
Although wine and other alcoholic beverages have largely maintained or even increased their sales, sake sales have declined by more than 10 percent compared to the previous year.
Sake brewers may have suffered the most from the COVID-19 restrictions that restricted after-work drinking sessions, and they have largely failed to expand their customer base.
Masaaki Ito, 40, a company employee who lives in Tokyo’s Suginami district and drank at least 3.6 liters of alcohol each week, explained why sake is not his favorite drink at home.
“I hardly drank at home before, so I only drank alcohol every few months last year,” he said.
When he drank at home, he chose shochu, shochu-based “chuhai” drinks and canned beer, thinking he should finish them soon after opening.
“Sake products that are available in supermarkets are sold in a narrow price range and are not of good enough quality,” said Ito. “The high sugar content of sake was a negative factor for me because I don’t get enough exercise.”
RENTER WINE SALE
According to a survey by the National Tax Agency in 2020, the taxable shipping volume of “seishu” (refined sake), which covers most types of sake, was 418,554 kiloliters or 89.6 percent of the previous year’s volume.
Other spirits also showed declines, but not as much as the decline.
The taxable shipping volume of fruit wine was 352,195 kiloliters or 93.3 percent of the previous year, while the values for multi-distilled “ko-rui” shochu and single-distilled “otsu-rui” shochu were 93.6 and 97 percent, respectively.
The volume of spirits, which include gin and rum, rose 9 percent year over year, while liquors, which cover chuhai and other beverages, rose 7 percent.
The same survey found that beer volume was 77.4 percent of the previous year’s volume. However, beer-like drinks in the third category, which for tax purposes fall into the liqueur category, enjoy brisk sales.
According to an estimate based on announcements from four large breweries, domestic deliveries of beverages in the third category increased by around 3 percent year-on-year, surpassing that of regular beer.
Overall, regular beer and beer-like beverages, including low-malt “happoshu”, fell 9 percent.
All alcoholic beverages shared the same trend: their sales in restaurants and other establishments plummeted during the pandemic, while sales of relatively cheaper household beverages remained strong.
According to a survey conducted by marketing firm Intage Inc. on retail alcohol sales in 2020, sales of many beverages have increased since last year thanks to home demand, including a 3 percent increase in wine. But sake sales are down 4 percent.
The wine giant Mercian Corp. said wine satisfies the needs of people who want to indulge in some “luxury”.
The company said its sparkling wines, priced below 800 yen ($ 7.35), and other beverages that cost between 500 yen and 600 yen, are particularly popular.
“More and more households have time,” said a company representative. “Bottles from 500 milliliters to 750 milliliters are perfect sizes for small gatherings. It seems they have won the support of customers because they look good at online drinking parties. “
CHEAP PICTURE
“People pay 700 yen for a glass of sake when they go out but don’t drink it at home,” said Hitoshi Utsunomiya, a board member of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.
Although sake has seen some sort of boom over the past decade, its consumption has actually been falling fairly consistently. The taxable shipping volume has shrunk to around 25 percent of its peak.
“Sake makers, especially small and medium-sized breweries, have found an advantage in selling high quality ‘ginjo’ brews and other premium sakes at higher prices when the market shrinks, but their efforts have been undermined by the pandemic,” Utsunomiya said.
Satoaki Yamada, director of the first research division at Sakebunka Institute Inc. that disseminates information about sake, said sake makers had failed to develop effective measures to expand their customer base.
In fact, ginjo, “Junmai” (pure rice) and other premium sakes make up less than 30 percent of all sake consumption.
“Regular sake, including the one in paper cartons, which accounts for more than half the consumption, is simply viewed as cheap sake,” he said.
Another reason for the decline, Yamada said, is the fact that many sake breweries are small and cannot advertise their products like beer makers with sales exceeding 1 trillion yen.
“Sake isn’t served on the table during the New Year holidays either,” he continued. “Sake is becoming less important because it doesn’t offer classic combinations like wine for steak and beer for yakiniku grilled meat. It is a critical situation. “
ATTRACTING YOUNGER DRINKERS
However, Yamada said there are signs that sake may experience a revival.
“Inexpensive, fragrant and fresh-tasting sake can find broad support,” he said.
Takara Shuzo Co., for example, has launched a banana-flavored sake made exclusively with yeast and without artificial flavors.
Available in 250 milliliter bottles, the product became a hit with customers, especially in the thirties.
The paper-wrapped sake product from Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewing Co. was praised for its flavor, which is comparable to a higher quality “Daiginjo” brew.
More than half of buyers of paper-wrapped sake are believed to be 65 or older, but half of buyers of this product are under 40 or younger, the company said.