Russians stopped buying buckwheat and switched to gin

The peak demand for sugar, buckwheat and rice in stores, according to NielsenIQ data, was passed by early April. But the Russians began to stock up on alcohol:

Since mid-March 2022, sales of alcohol — gin, vodka and beer — have increased markedly in the largest retail chains, according to the results of an audit of the retail trade of the research company NielsenIQ, which RBC got acquainted with.

Alcohol sales peaked in the tenth and eleventh weeks of the year, ending March 13 and 20, respectively. During the reporting two weeks, gin was bought by 60% more than in the same period of 2021, beer sales in physical terms increased by 9–15%, vodka — by 10–13%. In the following week, ending on April 3, the growth rate of alcohol sales decreased, but was still noticeably higher than the level of the previous year: gin was bought by 52% more than a year earlier, vodka - by almost 9%, beer - by 8%.

At the same time, the rush demand for long-term storage products, which has been observed since the beginning of March, has passed by the end of the month. In the week ended April 3, sales of sugar in volume terms decreased by 12% compared to the same week in 2021, canned meat and butter - by 9%, coffee - by 8%, pasta - by 4%, rice - by 3% . Demand for buckwheat also decreased by 0.1%. A higher level of sales than a year earlier was recorded only for instant noodles: in the week from March 28 to April 3, they were bought by 17%, more than a year earlier.

Demand for groceries has now returned to normal, in particular, demand for sugar continues to weaken, while sales of alcohol - gin, vodka and beer - show a positive trend compared to last year, the press service of Magnit notes.

Almost everyone stocks up

The majority of Russians - about 85% - have a stock of food, follows from a survey published in April by VTsIOM. For comparison: in 1992, the share of those who bought food for future use was 71%.

More than half of the respondents (61%) have the same stocks of products this year as in the past, the share of those who increased stocks has not changed compared to last year (8%).

The motives for which Russians buy food for the future have changed over 30 years: if in 1992 citizens stocked up equally because of fear that prices would rise (40%) and because of a possible shortage of goods (42%), now the main thing is apprehension - rising prices (it worries 46% of respondents). The lack of goods on sale today worries 29% of respondents.

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Excessive demand in March for long-term storage products was accompanied by their rise in price, follows from the calculations of Rosstat. In March 2022, sugar increased in price by 44%, cereals - by 10%, pasta - by 7%.

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Against this background, retail prices for alcohol rose in March not so significantly - by less than 4%. In the week ending on February 25, when the military special operation began, 1 liter of vodka in retail cost an average of 656.7 rubles, by mid-March, when NielsenIQ specialists began to record increased sales, it was 670.7 rubles, in early April - RUB 675.6 For comparison: 1 kg of sugar at the end of February cost an average of 58.7 rubles in retail, in mid-March - already 77.8 rubles, in early April - 86.9 rubles.

RBC sent a request to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as well as to the largest retail chains - X5 Group (Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, Chizhik), Auchan, Lenta, Verny.

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Why alcohol sales are on the rise

The fact that Russians have begun to buy alcohol has already been recorded by the Beluga Group, Russia's largest vodka producer and importer of other alcoholic beverages. According to the results of January-March 2022, the group reported a double-digit increase in sales - by 25%, to 3.9 million decalitres, compared to the same period last year. Demand grew in a situation of uncertainty and against the backdrop of consumers' desire to purchase products for the future, Alexander Mechetin, Chairman of the Board of Beluga Group, explained. Imported alcohol was in special demand, the company's shipments of which increased by almost 46%, to 690,000 dal. Grant's whiskey (+37%), Monkey Shoulder (+121%), Tullamore DEW (+39%), Barceló rum (+46%) showed the biggest growth.

In March and April, premium and imported alcohol could be in high demand, which was bought for fear that it would disappear or increase in price, Vadim Drobiz, director of the Center for Research on Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, believes. In his opinion, buyers could stock up on, for example, imported and craft beer, as well as tequila, rum, whiskey, gin and absinthe. In March, beer consumers also bought for future use - the rush demand was associated with the departure of many players from the Russian market and the expectation of subsequent price increases, confirms the acting president of AB InBev Efes (produces beer under the brands BUD, Stella Artois, Corona Extra, etc.) Oraz Durdiev. Against the backdrop of news about the violation of logistics and restrictions on the work of foreign companies in Russia, some consumers, seeing the risks of reducing imports and high inflation,

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Russians consume gin mainly as part of cocktails in public catering, and the expert explains the sharp increase in its sales in March and April by savings on bars where prices have risen. Compared to other spirits, the consumption of gin in Russia is “poverty,” recalls Drobiz. Russians drink about 800 million liters of vodka, 120 million liters of cognac, 60 million liters of whiskey a year, and only 4.5 million liters of gin. Some of this gin is domestically produced, the expert clarifies.

Although gin is not included in the category of alcoholic beverages that are massively consumed in Russia, demand for it has grown at double-digit rates before, NielsenIQ pointed out earlier. Analysts explained this trend with the emergence of more affordable products for consumers, including local production. Igor Kosarev, President of the Union of Producers of Alcoholic Products, in turn, noted that sales of gin and tequila are growing due to changing consumer tastes: young people drink less pure vodka, preferring cocktails.