The Mediterranean’s renown culinary heritage presents significant opportunities for the On Premise sector, but shifting consumer habits and mounting economic pressures mean it must continue to adapt to ensure future success.
George Argyropoulos, Managing Director EMEA at NIQ, explores the trends, categories, and evolving cultural factors that businesses must understand to navigate change and drive sustainable growth.
How the Mediterranean On-Premise is evolving
The Mediterranean eating and drinking out culture is constantly evolving. While upholding the region’s renowned gastronomic heritage, bars, cafés, bistros and tavernas continue to adapt to shifting social habits and changing consumer needs – it is no surprise that the region is home to 15 of the World’s 50 Best Bars, a ranking that celebrates some of the world’s most innovative and forward-thinking cocktail venues. As mounting economic pressures place growing strain on both the industry and consumers, now more than ever the On Premise must pay close attention to emerging trends to adapt accordingly and ensure long-term viability.
Our Outlet Index provides a valuable lens to this end. This is a comprehensive database that maps and segments all On Premise outlets across the market. One of the most significant shifts it highlights is the rise of all-day dining. Consumers are increasingly choosing to eat out across a wider range of dayparts; by doing so they are pushing venues to rethink what was once a clear distinction between establishments focused on lunch or dinner service and those offering more casual, throughout-the-day dining experiences. Traditional, clearly defined venue types are gradually giving way to more fluid formats, leaving consumers with an ever broader and more diverse range of eating options. Breakfast and brunch offerings are becoming more prominent, expanding opportunities for those seeking to dine or snack out throughout the morning, right up to lunchtime. At the same time, evening and night-time bars and clubs are broadening their food propositions, evolving from menus once centred primarily on small plates and snacks towards more substantial dishes capable of supporting a complete meal.
Beer is king
Overall, beer remains the most important category across the Mediterranean region, chosen by 41% of users on a routine visit, while soft drinks rank second. Wine, by contrast, tends to be more popular on event-led occasions (29%), with cocktails and spirits following at 19% each. A closer look at individual markets, however, reveals a more nuanced picture. In Croatia, France, and Spain, for instance, beer still dominates, reaching as high as 65% in Greece.
Yet when it comes to soft drinks, the landscape becomes considerably more varied. The category retains its second place in both Croatia and Spain, but in Greece it slips behind wine, likely reflecting how deeply it remains embedded in everyday casual drinking culture. Similarly, in Italy, it is coffee culture that has a pronounced influence on consumer choices. Coffee and other hot drinks rank first overall, with beer coming in second. Soft drinks only appear in fifth place, preceded by wine and – demonstrating the continued strength of the aperitivo moment. In Türkiye, too, we notice a growing prominence of hot and soft drinks, chosen by nearly half of all users. This likely reflects a combination of factors, including the country’s strong coffee culture but also a tendency among consumers to moderate or avoid alcohol consumption for religious reasons. When Turkish On-Premise users do consume alcohol though, they tend to do so with clear intention as the leading category (36%) is whisky. Businesses must take this distinct preference into account when shaping strategies for the market.
When the sun’s still shining
Another notable On-Premise shift that emerges from our research is a move towards earlier dayparts. Mediterranean culture was once known for its extended daily rhythm, with late evening meals and drinks long after much of Northern Europe had already wound down for the night. Since the pandemic, however, consumers have been increasingly choosing to dine and drink out earlier in the day. According to our REACH research, for instance, earlier outings have increased by 15 percentage points (pp) in Türkiye and 9pp in Greece. This may sound like a stark departure from the Med’s traditionally late outings mentioned above, yet upon closer inspection earlier On-Premise occasions aren’t as radical a break with local culture as they might appear. In fact, this shift can be seen as an expansion or evolution of the aperitivo culture, often associated with Italian lifestyle but also present in various forms across other Mediterranean cultures, such as the tardeo in Spain.
Now increasingly more common across the region (and beyond) earlier eating and drinking occasions are blurring the boundaries between categories once firmly anchored to specific moments in the day. The spritz, for instance, long regarded as the archetypal aperitivo drink, is now just as likely to be treated as an evening cocktail. Meanwhile, beer – traditionally the centerpiece of a night out at the pub in many markets – is also being repositioned as an aperitivo choice, comfortably straddling both pre-dinner and social drinking occasions. Operators and brands need to pay close attention to these shifting tendencies to ensure they not only offer the right categories to their customers, but also deliver them in ways that align with the distinct occasions in which they are consumed.
Mixing things up
Of all the trending categories, cocktails warrant the closest attention, having grown significantly across the Mediterranean, often at the expense of more traditional alcoholic beverages. Rum-, vodka- and tequila-based serves are among the most commonly chosen across numerous Mediterranean markets, with Greece and Spain showing a particularly strong preference for the former, and Italy for gin. At the same time, longer serves now transcend the aperitivo moment, and are gradually being embedded into the broader cocktail occasion, opening new opportunities for soft and lower-alcohol beverages to be integrated into the same repertoire.
The cocktail occasion is particularly dynamic in Türkiye, where consumers are steadily expanding their drinking choices with a growing range of serves. Some of the most popular options – the Margarita and the Espresso Martini – have each grown by a remarkable 12pp year-on-year, and even a long-established favourite like the Mojito has seen a solid increase of 3pp.
Bartenders as ambassadors
The growth of cocktail culture across the Mediterranean has undoubtedly been fuelled by the modern cocktail revolution first seen in more established mixology markets such as Britain and North America. With its emphasis on fresh ingredients, complex techniques and premium experiences, this societal phenomenon has also transformed the role of the bartender, elevating the profession to a level of consumer respect that can, in many ways, be compared to that of Michelin-starred chefs. Whether on or off the floor, bartenders are now true ambassadors for the sector and carry a significant degree of influence over people’ drinking habits.
According to our latest BarSights survey, nearly 9 in 10 bartenders make at least one drink recommendation to a guest during every shift, recommendations that consumers are often willing to follow. Guests increasingly look to them not only for suggestions on what to drink, but also for guidance and education around new categories and serves. This positions bar staff as an effective bridge between businesses and end consumers, making it essential for brands and operators to ensure these workers are aligned on the right messaging and equipped to leverage that expertise throughout service.
Enhancing bartenders’ appeal is the increased theatricality of drink preparation, particularly in higher-end venues. Bar staff should not only deliver beautifully presented serves, but do so with flair and panache, as this adds an experiential layer that goes beyond the drink itself. For On-Premise users, such extra value is worth the high price of the cocktail, as it enables them to extend the experience onto social media and complete the phygital loop that today defines the modern path to purchase. In this sense, the growing importance of the cocktail category can also be seen as a response to rising demand for affordable luxury in the On-Premise. As financial pressures mount across the Mediterranean, cocktails offer consumers a distinctive way to maximise their budgets: they are indulgent yet accessible, entertaining in the moment, and capable of a second life online through shared images and videos.
This might well be one of the most revealing insights into evolving consumer needs and desires. In an increasingly challenging operating environment, an experiential dimension that seamlessly integrates the physical and digital worlds is no longer optional, but central to creating value and remaining competitive. While these broader tendencies should remain front of mind, businesses must recognise that they are not sufficient on their own. To build future-proof strategies that are precisely attuned to regional differences and demographic nuance, brands and operators must pair macro trends with robust data capable of delivering the granular insight needed to decode specific occasions, category dynamics and local consumer behaviours.
Win in the On-Premise
NIQ’s suite of research services combine to provide brands and operators with an unrivalled and holistic view of the Mediterranean On-Premise sector.
REACH, for instance, illuminates eating and drinking behaviours across global markets, offering valuable insights and benchmarking for targeted outreach. NIQ’s consumer research can also deliver many more exclusive insights into consumer habits and preferences in the On-Premise, helping businesses to craft successful strategies and gain market share.
To learn more about NIQ’s capabilities across the Mediterranean On-Premise, get in touch with George Argyropoulos, Managing Director EMEA, NielsenIQ.
