Spirits in Morocco

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Push to get more products into the marketplace, along with sponsored events and parties help boost interest and sales of spirits in 2019

Spirits saw another incremental increase in total volume sales in 2019. Players made a notable push to get more products into the marketplace in an effort to increase the popularity of spirits and that push has had a modicum of success.

Local companies, importers and retailers benefit from steps Moroccan government has taken to curb distribution of illicit spirits in 2019

Illegal and smuggled products are very common in Morocco and account for around 10% of total volume sales. This tends to affect legal sales of spirits, mainly due to the fact that smuggled products tend to be cheaper than products sold in supermarkets and alcoholic drinks specialist retailers.

While Chai Andrieux maintains a significant lead with its popular mahia, Pernod Richard gains ground in 2019 with numerous recognised brands in spirits

Chai Andrieux maintained its significant lead in the Moroccan spirits landscape in 2019 on the strength of its dominant volume share within “other” spirits with mahia rabi amrane, an extremely popular fig-based spirits product in Morocco. The company has the four leading brands in this category and its products are very cheap compared to that of the competition.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

On-trade volume sales of spirits are expected to fall by 17% in 2020 in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to an expected marginal rise forecast for 2020 during research conducted in May 2019, ie before the spread of COVID-19.

Affected products within spirits

While spirits overall has been negatively impacted by COVID-19-related lockdowns, travel restrictions and other issues affecting the burgeoning tourism industry, no particular category is expected to stand out significantly from among others as a direct result of the pandemic. Whiskies, white rum and tequila (mescal) will see the highest on-trade volume declines as they are more often consumed on-trade than at home, and less likely to be purchased off-trade due to lack of availability as well as to their expense.

Recovery and opportunities

While mahia rabi amrane will remain a local favourite in Morocco, over the forecast period imported brands are expected to more or less dominate spirits in the country. Most drinks sold in this category fall in the whiskies, vodka and rum categories, but liqueurs are set to become more popular too.

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