Rtds/High-Strength Premixes in Ireland

PROSPECTS

Health and wellness likely to be used to help stem decline in category

A greater emphasis on health and wellness will continue to have a negative impact on the sales of RTDs/high-strength premixes in Ireland over the coming years. Sales are predominantly expected to decline as consumers are expected to seek out products that contain less sugar.

Changes to Irish legislation is set to pose a challenge to the category

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is set to be a significant challenge to the category in the coming years, particularly off-trade. The legislation is set to bring about minimum unit pricing, structural separation in supermarkets and other retailers, health warnings, calories and alcohol content as well as restrictions on the promotion and advertising of alcoholic drinks.

Spirit based RTDs likely to see sales growth due to new product development

The popularity of spirits such as gin and Irish whiskey has led to innovations in RTDs/high-strength premixes such as Jameson & Ginger Ale and Gordon’s & Tonic. They are likely to prove popular in the coming years through off-trade and this is likely to help volume sales growth of spirit-based RTDs and see them improving volume sales growth compared to the review period.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

West Coast Cooler becoming less popular and impacting Irish Distillers’ sales

Irish Distillers Ltd, the leading player in RTDs/high-strength premixes, lost share in 2017 with actual volume sales also declining. The company’s core brand West Coast Cooler is losing popularity amongst Irish consumers, particularly due to the demand for substitute products, particularly spirits such as gin and whiskies.

WKD NKD brand taps into the demand for low calorie

The WKD brand has performed well over the review period, despite all the challenges faced by the category. The brand has benefited from focusing on the rise in demand for health and wellness by introducing its WKD NKD range in late 2016.

Private label increasing but still remains small overall

Private label has a small but growing presence within RTDs/high-strength premixes, as consumer footfall continues to increase in discounters Lidl and Aldi, which predominantly sell private label products. However, these retailers are also adding some brands to their portfolios.

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