As the cost-of-living crisis continues, Nigel Huddleston looks at the benefits of big brands and mainstream flavours The historical pattern of drink trends during times of economic struggle sees a surge in sales of cheap brands and a fall for more expensive ones. But things in the drinks market have changed since the recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s, and…

Guinness, tequila, vodka and RTDs have helped to drive Diageo’s sales in Great Britain. As part of the company’s results for the year to June 30, Diageo reported a 7% rise in organic sales for the GB market. The Smirnoff owner noted that trade in its home market was “mostly driven by strong performance in Guinness with strong market share gains”. The company said that…

Aldi is now Scotland’s third biggest supermarket by volume according to the latest data from Kantar. The data, based on the 12 week period until May 14 2023, found that Aldi’s volume share of the Scottish grocery market has increased to 11%, making it the third biggest supermarket by volume after Asda (13.8%) and Tesco (24%). This marks the first time that…

New Zealand wine company Indevin Group is to bottle a selection of its Villa Maria wines in the UK from early 2024. The company said today that Encirc in Elton would handle its UK operations. The move follows “several years” of research in partnership with agent Hatch Mansfield, as the companies look to prioritise sustainability and consider the carbon footprint of shipping wine from New…

Richard Corbett examines how gin producers are looking to NPD to maintain interest in the category through 2023 and beyond New flavours, cocktails, no-alcohol and high-end brands will shape the fortunes of gin in 2023. According to the IWSR, the UK gin market nearly trebled in the decade to 2020, but this now looks to have been the high water mark, with consumption declining ever…

The number of UK breweries becoming insolvent has tripled in the past year, with smaller brewers worst hit, according to data cited by tax and audit firm Mazars. Using Insolvency Service data, the company said the number of insolvencies rose to 45 in the year to March 31, 2023, up from 15 in the previous year. Paul Maloney, associate director at Mazars, said the insolvencies…

The UK government has announced a decision to temporarily exclude Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) from the Internal Market Act 2020, which will allow the scheme to launch next year. As part of the announcement, the government confirmed that glass will be excluded from the Scottish scheme. Scotland’s DRS is to start in March 2024, while other UK nations won’t launch schemes until 2025.