From Spritz to Mocktails: The New Frontiers of the European Cocktail
Flavours, no-alcohol and pricing: POS data reveals a transformation that runs deeper than the rise of the Spritz
Saying that the Spritz is gaining ground tells only part of the story.
When cocktails are grouped by product family and flavour profile, a deeper transformation emerges: bitter, orange-led flavours are becoming more prominent, no-alcohol cocktails are now measurable everywhere, and the category retains a strong ability to generate value.
For beverage brands, these shifts provide valuable signals for innovation, ready-to-serve formats and pricing strategy.
Bitter orange becomes the common denominator
The first key finding is that the “bitter orange” profile ranks first in all four markets studied.
Consumers are therefore not simply ordering more Aperol Spritz. More broadly, they appear to be gravitating towards a flavour family built around bitterness, orange and the aperitif occasion.
The trend is particularly pronounced in Germany: bitter orange and Spritz-style cocktails account for 41% of named cocktails classified by flavour profile.
They are followed by:
• mint & lime: 9%
• cola: 6%
• juniper & tonic: 6%
• energy-drink profiles: 4%
Beyond this shared leading flavour, however, the markets differ significantly.
Coffee plays a particularly important role in the United Kingdom. Cola stands out in the Netherlands. In France, mint-and-lime and blackcurrant profiles are among the most distinctive signatures.
For brands, this is a useful reminder: the same product concept will not necessarily find its best market everywhere.
When viewed by family, Spritz gains even more ground
Analysis by product family confirms the movement seen at recipe level.
In France, the Prosecco & Spritz family gained 1.2 percentage points of cocktail revenue share in one year.
In the Netherlands, aperitifs & bitters gained 0.9 percentage points.
By contrast, rum-based families declined by 0.8 points in France and 2.2 points in the Netherlands. Vodka-based cocktails also fell by 1.7 points in France.
In Germany, the concentration is even more striking: bitter and Spritz-style cocktails alone account for 45% of total cocktail category revenue.
The United Kingdom follows a different pattern. Spirits served with a mixer remain particularly strong, while tequila represents an attractive value pocket: it accounts for 7.4% of cocktail revenue at an average price of £8.27.
The right strategy is therefore not necessarily to replicate the same range everywhere, but to determine which family is winning, in which market and at what price point.
Mocktails become a genuinely measurable category
Another signal worth monitoring is that no-alcohol cocktails are now visible in POS receipts across all four countries.
France has the highest share: mocktails account for 7.0% of cocktail revenue, up 0.24 percentage points.
The United Kingdom follows at 6.1%.
In the Netherlands, the share remains lower at 3.0%, but has gained 0.26 points.
Germany shows the strongest momentum: mocktails still represent only 2.7% of cocktail revenue, but grew by 0.58 percentage points in one year.
It is therefore important to look not only at the category’s current size, but also at the speed of its development.
No alcohol does not mean low value
Another interesting finding is that no-alcohol cocktails are not necessarily sold as a low-priced alternative.
In France, the average mocktail sells for €7.61, approximately 83% of the average price of a classic cocktail.
In the Netherlands, the average price reaches €8.17. It stands at €6.60 in Germany and £3.30 in the United Kingdom.
The potential of no-alcohol therefore does not rest solely on substitution. Mocktails can become a genuinely premium occasion, provided that the recipe, experience and perceived value are carefully developed.
European cocktails retain a significant premium over beer
This ability to generate value is also apparent when comparing the average price of a european cocktail with that of a beer.
In the Fyre panel:
• France — Cocktail: €9.12; Beer: €6.17
• Germany — Cocktail: €7.91; Beer: €4.25
• Netherlands — Cocktail: €7.72; Beer: €4.09
• United Kingdom — Cocktail: £4.63; Beer: £4.21
In the Netherlands and Germany, a cocktail therefore costs almost twice as much as a beer. The ratio is around 1.5 in France, but only 1.1 in the United Kingdom.
The latter result should nevertheless be treated with caution: the British market includes many shots and spirits served with a mixer, which pulls the average down.
When only more traditional cocktails — from Aperol Spritz to Espresso Martini — are considered, the UK average price reaches £8.12.
In France, the effect of venue type is also highly visible: in hotels, the average cocktail price reaches €11.25.
A particularly useful lens for innovation and RTDs
For manufacturers, the value of these data goes beyond identifying a trend.
They make it possible to ask highly practical questions:
Which flavour profile should be prioritised in each country? Where is there sufficient value to launch a premium offer? In which markets does no-alcohol present the greatest potential? Which RTD format could fit naturally into the consumption habits already observed?
Consumption data thus turns a trend into an innovation brief.
And that is probably where the difference lies between following a fad and identifying a genuine market opportunity.
Methodology
The findings are based on complete POS receipts received daily by Fyre from approximately 33,000 European venues directly connected to their POS systems.
The scope covers venues in the Fyre panel where sales of alcoholic beverages were observed in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The figures are not extrapolated to the market as a whole.
Fyre classifies products within its “Cocktails & Mixers” category, which includes alcoholic and no-alcohol cocktails and 22 families defined notably according to the base spirit.
Flavour profiles are built from cocktails whose names can be identified on receipt line items, then grouped into flavour families. The share of revenue that can be precisely attributed to a named cocktail varies by country: 79% in Germany, 72% in the Netherlands, 59% in France and 36% in the United Kingdom.
Prices are expressed in their local currency. UK prices in pounds sterling are not converted into euros; any graphical comparison between countries should therefore be considered indicative.
No cell based on fewer than 30 venues is published.
Comments