Spotlight on: student drinking

Research by NUSSL - the commercial arm of the National Union of Students - has pinpointed the main difference between student and non-student lifestyles: students drink more.

A massive 85% of students classify themselves as regular drinkers when entering university. Students spend an average of £20 a week on alcohol. 25% of them spend over £20 a week. For good or bad, the typical student consumes between 26 and 40 units a week - the equivalent of 20 pints or seven bottles of wine. But alcohol is by no means the only liquid that passes their lips - NUSSL will buy 10 million litres of soft drinks this year to quench student thirsts.

Drinking is important to students because the culture of student life increasingly revolves around active social interaction. Because of the enthusiasm for drinks of all kinds, the response to drinks brand marketing is almost always positive.

To succeed in the student drinks market you need pay close attention to emerging student trends. Currently the top-selling female student drink is vodka. Kickstarted by the Red Bull and vodka revolution of the mid-Nineties, the spirit has found popularity today as the staple of almost any soft drink mixer. "I drink it because it's the lowest calorie alcohol," says Steph Lloyd, a Brighton University student.

According to student bar managers, premium packaged spirits and spirit based 'alcopops' are this year's success story. At Keele union they account for four of their top five sellers. And because no student drinks their vodka straight, soft drink sales are also going through the roof - Coke, Diet Coke and orange juice are the current mixers of choice. The student drinks market moves at a pace.

Away from the bar, student shops are reporting an increase in non-alcoholic drink sales. Again, these are affected by passing trends as well as different seasons in the student calendar. Exam times, for example, see sales of energy drinks soar as students look for something to help them through intensive studying. Water sells better now than it ever has, as awareness about dehydration issues spreads. New product lines of all types of drink find favour with students, who love novelty and the chance to try something different.