When can you have too much of a good thing?
That’s the question being asked by Japan’s alcohol industry, where two of the country’s four major makers have taken the unusual step of retreating from a lucrative and growing market: strong premixed drinks.
Booze sales have famously been in a steady decline for years as the population ages and the ranks of sober-curious grow, but that skid is mostly observed in beer. The ready-to-drink (RTD) sector — epitomized by chūhai canned cocktails that combine fruit flavorings, sparkling water and a shochu or vodka base — has been growing almost nonstop for over 15 years.