The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is taking its annual look back at consumer preferences for beverage alcohol. In 2025, Ontarians embraced the opportunity to discover something new amid restrictions on U.S.-produced products, new points of sale and innovative new product releases.
“This year, we saw trends shift in response to industry changes and a growing desire to support local, with more than 20 per cent growth in demand for Ontario products,” said Abhay Garg, vice president, merchandising, LCBO. “Customers were motivated to try something new – often from our own backyard – which is great for local producers.”
Beer, Cider and Ready-to-Drink
Both beer (up 22 per cent) and ready-to-drink (RTD) coolers (up 21 per cent) experienced a significant boost throughout the year – partly driven by their availability at more points of sale outside of the LCBO. Meanwhile, at the LCBO, the expansion of large-format beer (i.e., 12, 24 and 30-packs) across the province drove 42 per cent growth over the previous year, with the 30-pack being the most popular large-pack format.
Ontario’s craft beer and cider customers flocked to tried-and-true favourites, flavour innovation and seasonal releases from local producers. At the same time, interest in classic Belgian, German and Czech styles fueled demand for imported beer. Non-alcoholic beer and cider (up 14 per cent) continued to grow in popularity, and customers can look forward to large national brands and local craft producers launching new styles in 2026.
Seltzer-style products, which offer a low-calorie alternative, remained the most popular RTD type. However, RTD cocktails continued to be the fastest-growing (up 31 per cent), doubling in growth since last year. Exciting new releases from local Ontario producers were popular, and this year, the LCBO more than doubled the number of products available from small Ontario RTD producers.
Wine
When it comes to wine, customers continued to seek out fresher styles, including lighter wines. With more customers choosing to consume mindfully, de-alcoholized wines continued to gain popularity (up 126 per cent). In lieu of U.S.-produced wines, Ontario wines benefited from strong customer sentiment in support of local, with VQA sales increasing by 56 per cent, led by Ontario red VQA (up 66 per cent) and Ontario white VQA (up 54 per cent). There were also notable increases in demand for wines from Canada (up 19 per cent), Australia (up 17 per cent), Italy (up 10 per cent) and France (up 18 per cent) – particularly red wines.
Spirits
Within spirits, customers increasingly chose Canadian and Ontario alternatives. Canadian whisky led overall growth by value, but this trend extended to other spirit categories, including vodka, rum and liqueurs, where Canadian and Ontario options gained traction. While smaller categories, Asian whiskies continued to experience strong demand (up 23 per cent) and Irish whiskey (up two per cent) experienced steady growth. Meanwhile, consumers continued to favour smaller, convenient sizes, driving demand for bottles below 750 millilitres. The LCBO is expanding its assortment to meet this growing preference.
Data and information pertain to Nov. 9, 2024, to Nov. 8, 2025. For data on top selling products by category, refer to LCBO’s Quarterly Trade Updates.
