Yahoo Finance Liqueur sales surge over UK summer
Social media trends and an exceptionally hot British summer drove a revival in the popularity of liqueurs amongst consumers in 2018.
About 42m bottles of liqueur were consumed at home and in pubs in the 12 months to September 2018, according to a report in the Guardian. UK retailers had an excellent year due to the popularity of cocktail bases such as the Italian drinks Aperol and Campari.
Both those drinks are traditionally teamed with soda, but cream liqueurs, such as Baileys and Kahlua, also experienced a surge in sales reaching 1.7m bottles. Off-licence sales increased 33% in the 12 weeks running to early September.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WTSA) said: “These drinks, served in pretty stem glasses, proved very Instagrammable, and consumers were keen to share their snaps of the vibrant, colourful cocktails on social media.”
The increase in sales is in part explained by consumers’ willingness to pay for cocktails not just in bars and restaurants, but to make them in their own homes.
WTSA figures show that in the three months preceding 8 September, there was a 56% increase in sales of non-cream liqueur. 4m bottles were bought in the period, which is an increase of 1.4m from the same period last year.
Miles Beale, chief executive of WTSA, explained: “In the past liqueurs have often been overlooked in the spirits category, but the WSTA market report shows a surge in sales in the UK’s shops and supermarkets in 2018.
“This is partly down to Britain’s long, hot summer, when tall cocktails over ice were a welcome relief in the heatwave. But the liqueur boom has also been influenced by people sharing cocktail creation trends on social media, with consumers keen to recreate these drinks at home.”
The report could come as succour to Fever-Tree (FEVR.L) investors. The company produces tonic water and other mixers that are used in cocktails, and was punished in the stock market when it failed to offer positive revised earnings guidance in November.
