The Beer Institute released updated packaging data this week showing aluminum cans firmly atop beer format share while draft beer continues a measured post-pandemic rebound — a split that carries real implications for convenience-store cooler strategy and single-store operators managing cold-vault space.
The trade group's figures confirm cans have widened their lead over bottles and other formats in off-premise channels, a trend accelerated during pandemic-era on-premise closures that pushed volume into take-home packaging. For c-store operators, cans have long been the forecourt-friendly format — easy to stack, faster to chill, and favored by the grab-and-go shopper that defines the channel. Category managers at regional chains and SSOs alike have been allocating more cooler doors to can multipack and single-serve SKUs in direct response to that shift.
Draft's comeback, meanwhile, is largely an on-premise story. Bar and restaurant handle counts have recovered toward pre-2020 levels, and the Beer Institute data reflects volume flowing back to kegs. For c-store operators, that recovery is a competitive signal rather than a direct operational concern — though chains running proprietary tap programs or partnering with craft brewers on dispensed beer stations will want to watch format-preference trends among younger legal-drinking-age consumers who increasingly split purchases between on-premise experiences and off-premise convenience stops.
The data lands during a period of steady, if unspectacular, beer category performance inside the channel. Beer remains one of the top three inside-sales contributors at most multi-site operators, alongside dispensed beverage and tobacco. Margin pressure from premium and import SKUs has pushed some operators to rebalance sets toward domestic cans, where velocity and turn rates are more predictable. Craft and flavored malt beverages continue to claim shelf space, but the Beer Institute's packaging numbers suggest mainstream can formats are absorbing the bulk of volume.
For operators building or resetting cooler sets heading into the summer selling season — historically the strongest beer window in the c-store calendar — the takeaway is straightforward: can-forward planograms align with both consumer preference data and the operational realities of a high-turn, space-constrained cold vault. Loyalty program tie-ins on beer multipack purchases have also gained traction at several top-20 chains as a mechanism to capture basket size during peak warm-weather weeks.
Full methodology and format-share breakdowns are available through the Beer Institute. C-Store News will update this report when complete unit-level data is published. Coverage of related cold-vault and packaged-beverage trends and inside-sales category management is available in our sister coverage.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.