Spirits

In 2020, the global alcoholic drinks market faced a genuinely unprecedented collapse that proved to be far worse than the depths of the 2008 Great Recession while overshadowing every other major regional, macro or black swan event-driven crisis in…

This global company profile assesses the performance of Diageo across the world, analysing the performance of its key brands, such as Crown Royal, McDowell’s No 1 and Johnnie Walker. It also looks at themes such as the importance of India to Diageo,…

Latin America has been greatly impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, in large part due to the closure of on-trade establishments and the percentage of consumers living on daily incomes. This briefing examines the expected reaction of…

Spirits returned to seeing positive volume growth in both 2021 and 2022, having experienced a year of decline in 2020, including a particularly steep fall in sales in the on-trade, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, spirits saw on-trade growth…

Spirits consumption increased notably in both off- and on-premise terms, driven by a huge incremental volume growth of bitters, which reached the highest historical consumption in 2022. Bitters, which hold the majority of spirits consumption in…

Many Australians spent the two first years of COVID-19 experimenting with creating cocktails at home. As the pandemic eased in 2022, this resulted in a cocktail boom in the on-trade, as these increasingly educated cocktail connoisseurs sought…

Spirits, much like the broader alcoholic beverage market, witnessed a strong recovery in on-trade sales at the expense of off-trade sales in 2022, as the COVID-19 situation became more manageable and consumers gradually returned to their pre-pandemic…

Vodka continues to be the dominant product area in overall spirits, still accounting for close to 90% of spirits sales in total volume terms in 2022. This means that the dynamics in vodka generally determine the performance of overall spirits, with…

In 2022, spirits recorded a decline in off-trade sales in Belgium, with an increasing number of Belgians crossing the borders to buy their alcohol at lower prices in neighbouring countries. These consumers mostly go to France and Luxembourg, where…

The migration of consumption to lower-value categories is slowing the growth in value sales of spirits, specifically the expansion of low-priced beers. This trend is particularly evident in traditional sales channels, where low-priced beers dominate…

Retail volume growth of spirits remained strong in 2022, as consumer demand continued to bounce back in the on-trade following the steep declines caused by closures during the pandemic. Nevertheless, rising inflation has impacted spirits resulting in…

Whiskies experienced rapid total volume growth in Brazil in 2022, even amidst the challenging macroeconomic conditions and the income constraints of Brazilian consumers. The whiskies renaissance in Brazil can be attributed to various trends,…

In 2022, both off- and on-trade sales of spirits in Bulgaria increased. Current value growth by far exceeded volume growth due to a huge rise in average unit prices. Despite this, the premiumisation trend continued as Bulgarians increasingly favour…

As seen with the trend for champagne in clubs, we are also seeing a significant increase in sales of premium and prestige premium spirits through clubs and lounges in Cameroon. Brands such as Johnnie Walker Black Label (Diageo Plc), Jack Daniel’s…

Spirits continue to maintain their growth, although there is a slight slowdown in 2022. Consumption levels remain strong as the country experiences a complete reopening of the economy. Several spirit categories have shown improved performance,…

In a category where overall demand for most types of spirits declined in 2022, liqueurs was a positive performer and was key to offsetting some of the category’s fall (especially through the off-trade channel). Liqueurs continued to record positive…

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spirits in China was profound in 2022, as the closure of on-trade establishments during lockdowns had a detrimental effect on sales in the category. However, amidst these challenging circumstances, there was a…

Even though 2022 was marked by inflationary pressures, spirits witnessed rapid growth in Colombia, driven by the further recovery of the on-trade channel where double-digit volume growth was visible. Consumers were eager to socialize after so much…

Spirits registered very healthy double-digit volume growth in 2022. Part of the reason for the positive performance was increased socialising, as society fully opened up post pandemic lockdowns. The return of foreign tourists also contributed to the…

Spirits recorded another year of growth in 2022 thanks to rising demand for quality spirits in the country. The low unit price increase of spirits also attracted increasingly price-sensitive consumers with reduced disposable incomes as a result of…

On-trade spirits sales continued to see strong growth in 2022, while off-trade sales saw moderate growth, with a boost in the on-trade driven by the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions in February 2022. However, the uncertainty brought on by the…

Overall, spirits registered a slight increase in volume sales in 2022, but performance varied widely across different products. Spirits that registered healthy growth were premium offerings of tequila (and mezcal), as well as whiskeys, with some…

Eastern Europe is still leading in spirits per capita consumption globally. Despite vodka continuing to dominate spirits, consumer taste preferences shift towards flavour sophistication. This drives other spirits, whiskies and brandy. Mid- and…

The spirits category has been greatly affected by the increase in ICE tax (Special Consumption Tax) for alcoholic beverages, which is a tax levied on each litre of pure alcohol. Since the spirits category has the highest levels of alcohol, it has…

In 2022, spirits recorded positive total volume sales for alcoholic drinks, as demand grew due to the changing drinking culture, with players being active in terms of innovation and new product development. Egy Bev introduced a new Whisky spirit onto…

In terms of single categories, tequila (and mezcal) registered the fastest total volume growth in 2022. This performance can be explained by several factors: increased awareness of tequila (and mezcal); greater availability on retail shelves; and…

In the mature spirits category in Finland, facing declining per capita consumption, staying ahead of the competition requires responding to consumer trends. One important trend is sustainability, including offering more sustainable and recyclable…

While 2021 was an atypical year in sales of spirits, leading to small positive growth, volume sales fell into a small negative decline in 2022 – as per the structure of the category pre-pandemic. However, this hides another atypical trend – namely…

The recovery of tourism flows in Georgia in 2022 boosted the demand for spirits. On-trade volume sales continued to grow to almost reach the 2019 pre-pandemic level by the end of the review period. In 2022, local consumers spent more time outside…

Total volume sales of spirits recorded a marked recovery in 2022, driven by the full reopening of the on-trade channel, as night clubs were finally allowed to reopen with no restrictions in March 2022. Although the shift in consumption occasions…

Bars were more affected by COVID-19 measures, such as bans on indoor sitting, people not allowed to stand and music prohibited in indoor spaces. Pandemic-related measures were more favourable to traditional on-trade outlets. Therefore, in general,…

Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala SA has the widest portfolio of spirits in the country, with popular brands that attract different target audiences, ages, and budgets. For example, within the premium segment the company offers Zacapa Centenario,…

In 2022, total volume sales of spirits recovered from the pandemic-battered year in 2020, returning to the above the pre-pandemic level of sales. All types of spirits saw growth due to the easing and then removal of pandemic restrictions by the…

Growth in total volume sales of spirits in 2022 was well down from 2021, with demand slowing sharply at the off- and on-trade levels. Because these products are comparatively expensive, the category was particularly exposed to more cautious attitudes…

United Spirits continued to lead the overall market for spirits in India in 2022, being the local representative of global player Diageo Plc. However, the company witnessed a significant decline in volume share during the year, as it shifted its…

Shochu/soju has been experiencing growth in the Indonesian market supported by the general rise in interest in Korean culture, and particularly K-Pop, across the globe. In recent years, there has also been more product variation available in the…

Volume sales of spirits declined in 2022, despite the recovery on on-trade consumption, following the lifting of COVID-19-related restrictions at the beginning of the year. This was due to a significant decline in off-trade volumes, as the…

Spirits is also seeing some cross-category trends. Namely, the event of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated at-home alcohol consumption, pushing forward premium products during the era of the lockdowns. Indeed, the periods of home quarantine encouraged…

Spirits was the category to suffer the most from Italy’s COVID-19 related restrictions. Indeed, unlike wine and beer, a significant share of on-trade sales of spirits traditionally concern non-dining establishments such as nightclubs. These…

After consecutive years of decline, total volume sales of spirits returned to growth in 2022. Spirits has a higher proportion of on-trade sales than other alcoholic drinks categories. Before the pandemic, it accounted for more than 33% of total…

Vodka remains a notably sizeable category among spirits, therefore, the dynamics in spirits in general depend on the dynamics in vodka. In 2022, production from branded players continued to increase at a significant pace, driven by the fact the local…

Spirits overall in Kenya has been experiencing a significant upswing in terms of total volume sales, due to the growing popularity of international brands. Increased importation of a diverse range of international spirits has been instrumental in…

Spirits sales took a battering from Coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020, particularly in the on-trade, where closures and restrictions placed a dampener on this channel’s performance. While Latin American countries tended to see better performances in the…

2022 was a good year for the spirits category in Latvia following the relaxation of pandemic restrictions, with horeca establishments able to work at full capacity from March 2022. As a result, spirits sales grew significantly in the on- and…

Sales of spirits declined in off-trade and on-trade volume terms in 2022. The category experienced a strong rebound in demand in 2021 boosted by the easing of restrictions and consumers returning to on-trade outlets. However, with life in Lithuania…

Sales of spirits rebounded strongly in total volume terms in 2022 although the performances of the different categories varied. For instance, standard vodka as well as standard and premium English gin enjoyed healthy growth in total volume terms in…

In 2022, US demand for tequila (and mezcal) continued its dynamic growth. At the same time, agave prices observed significant increases, driven by this demand, but also by inflationary pressures. This resulted in significant price increases for…

Spirits continued to see a poor performance in 2022 recording flat sales during the year. Pressures on consumers’ disposable income continued to be the major barrier to greater consumption. Most spirits are still expensive for the majority of…

The health and wellness trend seen globally and in New Zealand, particularly amongst millennial consumers, has been influencing demand for ‘better-for-you’ drinks, such as zero-alcohol beers, lighter wines, low-alcohol seltzers, and lower carb and…

Spirits recorded solid total volume growth in 2022, despite poor economic conditions and strong rises in unit prices. Actual volume growth was driven largely by gin and bitters, which are categories dominated by economy brands. Whilst categories…