Keep your products relevant as consumer demands shift
Until now, liquor portfolios were predictable. Seasonal cycles, steady volumes and a set of hero SKUs that carried most of the work. A very different picture to what store shelves look like today. For example, zero alcohol beer consumption in Australia is set to double from 150 million litres to 300 million litres by 20281. Zero alcohol wine, spirits and cider are no longer experimental and almost one third of shoppers were cutting back on alcohol purchases in the months leading up to January 20252. The driving factors behind these changes aren’t a secret; cost-of-living, health, wellness, and moderation. Great for diversification. Terrible for predictability.
The turning point
Inside each SKU sits a mix of batches with different shelf life, different demand patterns and different risk profiles. This is where item level data matters. The next generation of barcodes can encode enormous amounts product data; including GTIN (for scanning at POS), batch number, serial number and expiry date, far more than traditional barcodes. It gives every unit its own identity. One scan, and the item becomes part of a live digital record that a brand owner can update at any time, without touching the packaging.
Here’s what changes
When brands adopt the GS1 barcodes for their products, one barcode works across the whole supply chain. Forecasting gets smarter. Volatility in zero alcohol and RTD categories sits ‘inside’ the SKU, not across the category. Growth comes from rapid innovation, not stability. Item level data from the barcode provides actual movement patterns, uncovering shifts driven by consumer preferences, health behaviours and trends.
Automation and AI become practical
Once every item has a digital identity, the rest of the workflow simplifies. Inventory, quality control and authentication flow through the same data channel. The same barcode can support consumer-facing information, compliance, authentication and POS scanning. With item-level data, AI can understand real product behaviour and act with precision. Without it, AI is limited to broad category averages that hide the patterns brands and manufacturers need.
Closing the gap
For liquor brands, staying relevant means viewing products the way consumers buy them: one item at a time. The next generation of barcodes exposes the real dynamics in volatile categories, tightens operational control and turns every unit into a live source of intelligence.
In a market where zero alcohol demand is accelerating, moderation is reshaping behaviour and RTDs are multiplying faster than supply chains can adjust, running on averages is no longer viable. Item-level data closes the gap between what’s happening on the shelf and what’s happening on your production lines.
Visit: https://www.gs1au.org/next-generation-barcodes
GS1 standards empower the liquor sector to achieve greater supply chain efficiency, product traceability, and regulatory compliance, while also enhancing consumer engagement.
GS1 Australia is a Platinum Partner of the Drinks Association.
1 https://www.anz.com.au/newsroom/media/2024/august/consumption-of-non-alcoholic-beverages-set-to-accelerate
2 https://www.circana.com/post/sober-curious-nation-alcohol-survey
3 https://www.drinkstrade.com.au/news/industry-roundtable-adapting-with-consumers-this-summer-and-beyond