Spirits

Diageo remained the leading player in spirits globally in 2018, but growth was slower than for its main competitors, as the group continues to face challenges in the vodka and rum categories. However, despite a range of risks on the horizon, ...

With Euromonitor’s latest annual research now out, the global alcoholic drinks landscape points to heady heights. But could there be froth foaming behind the strongest volume growth figures in half a decade? Which are the categories spearheading the ...

Historically, the consumption of spirits in Bolivia was dominated by imported well-known global brands, which were perceived by consumers as aspirational products denoting a certain status for the person who consumed them. However, there is a growing...

Suntory Holdings is one of the world’s largest spirits companies, with particular strength in US and Japanese whiskies. This core focus will not change in the years ahead, although the company is looking to diversify geographically, as well as into ...

The increase in taxes on alcoholic drinks impacted consumer preferences, which are now strongly based on price, with many consumers trading down to standard and economy brands. This has been particularly notable in whisky, in which the share of the ...

One of the main characteristics of the spirits category in Bosnia-Herzegovina is the weak contribution of the off-trade channel to total sales. There are two main reasons: the tradition of home-distilling of spirits, and the large number of Muslims ...

Spirits in Croatia are now in full recovery from the devastating impact of the economic downturn in 2009. It can be said that almost a decade was lost and the current sales are nowhere near the pre-recession levels. However, steadily increasing ...

The total volume of spirits consumed in the Czech Republic rose only slightly in 2018, while total current value sales recorded a stronger increase, reflecting the fact that Czechs were consuming more premium imported products. With the rising ...

Italian consumers revealed an improved interest in rum in 2018, helped by premium rum booming in Italy in recent times. Thanks to the enthusiastic work of bloggers and influencers, the average Italian consumer gained more knowledge and curiosity ...

Traditionally, people of all ages and incomes in Uruguay have consumed whisky. For this reason, the whiskies category is by far the largest within spirits in terms of total volume sales, and no major changes are expected in consumer preferences. The ...

Spirits in Nigeria is seeing good total volume growth due to the affordability of such products. For many low-income consumers in the country, spirits are an affordable alternative to more expensive products, such as wine and beer, particularly as ...

The trade agreement with the EU significantly reduced import taxes, bringing dynamism back to the spirits category in 2017, and reducing contraband from Colombia and Peru. In 2018, growth continued, but at a slower rate. Volume sales of spirits are ...

Spirits are not available in Saudi Arabia as alcoholic drinks are not permitted in the country under Islamic Law....

Whiskies continues to grow, with premium whiskies in particular recording strong growth, as new brands and companies penetrate the category. Single malt Scotch whisky is seeing the strongest growth. This is due to several reasons, prime among them ...

In December 2017, the Malaysian government enforced a new ruling to impede alcohol misuse encouraged by a wide availability of cheap, compounded hard liquor sold in small pack sizes. Under the new Regulation 386A, compounded hard liquor can only be ...

Rum is the second most consumed alcoholic drink in the Dominican Republic, and also dominates total volume sales in the spirits category. The long history of rum in the country, together with international recognition for the origin denomination of ...

In 2018, gin continued to gain popularity, attributed to growing knowledge and consumer sophistication, where consumers seek unique experiences in their cocktails in both off-trade and on-trade. Off-trade channels offer a greater variety of premium ...

Despite low purchasing power and consumer confidence, premiumisation is a key trend in spirits. Consumption of spirits has declined among Greeks since the outbreak of the recession, yet they are increasingly upgrading to premium and super-premium ...

Continual excise tax increases in Lithuania have harshly affected economy and mid-priced spirit brands. Consumers with limited income have resorted to reducing their consumption of legal alcohol, with interest in cross-border trade and illegal ...

The growth of spirits in 2018 slowed down primarily as a result of the continued and pronounced consumer shift towards beer and wine. This had a direct limiting impact on the performance of the entire category, especially the biggest areas such as ...