2025 was another tough year for the adult beverage industry. Alcohol sales were down due to the convergence of several “perfect storms” of obstacles on multiple fronts: tariffs and resulting trade wars from the US new administration that hobbled foreign demand, in particular with our largest trading partner Canada; shifting consumer preferences—particularly in the youngest of LDL consumers—away from alcohol to non-alcoholic and/or new intoxicating adult beverage categories like Delta-9 THC drinks, and caution among younger and older LDL drinkers stemming from contradictory and often confusing, competing scientific studies about the health risks associated with even moderate alcohol consumption. These storms yielded a 90-year low in alcohol consumption, according to Gallup polls, with only 54% of adults reporting they drink and made 2025 the most competitive year for bev-alc brands in decades. This made packaging a key to differentiation, appeal, and sales in the stormy seas.
At BevTest, we review around five thousand adult beverage brands a year. We see a lot of packaging, and we’ve been carefully reviewing and evaluating packaging in our World Packaging Competition every December for the past 24 years. All the packages submitted by brands and their designers for our 2026 competition were closely analyzed and ranked by our panel of retail buyers, designers and industry experts. What follows are the best of category winners and runners up for bottle design, label design, gift box design, and packaging series, followed by lists by medal of other winners. We thank all the brand participants and their designers and wish them much success in 2026.
https://www.tastings.com/Packaging/2026/2026-BevTest-Packaging-Compendium.aspx
