Gin boom officially over as big brands see sales slump

Britain’s gin boom is well and truly over, following a torrid year for big-name brands in grocery.

Leading the decline in value sales is Gordon’s, which has shed £72.8m according to this year’s Britain’s Biggest Alcohol Brands data [NIQ 52 w/e 22 April 2023]. It is the biggest absolute decline of any alcohol brand in the off-trade – on volumes down 20.5%.

At the same time Whitley Neill, Bombay and Tanqueray have all suffered huge value losses. Between them, they have shed £33.9m, as 7.7 million fewer litres went through the tills.

The brands outpaced the general decline in booze sales, as Brits cut back for financial and health reasons.

However, booze giant Diageo pointed to “strong growth” across its zero-abv lines for Gordon’s and Tanqueray.

“The Gordon’s 0.0 SKUs continue to deliver for the brand, with Gordon’s proudly holding majority of share within the alcohol-free spirits segment,” said Hazan Aydin, head of Gordon’s.

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Whitley Neill was similarly confident about its non-alcoholic options. “More than ever consumers are increasingly mindful of their alcohol consumption,” according to a spokeswoman for owner Halewood Artisanal Spirits. “It’s important there are great-tasting alcohol-free products that can cater to this increase in demand.”

Alongside gin, mid-market beer has also fallen out of favour. Budweiser is down £50m, the second-biggest loss in our report.

Stella Artois, Foster’s and Carling – all top 10 brands – have also lost a combined £108.2m. Heineken, Carlsberg and Bud Light have plunged into the red, too.

“Budweiser has remained very popular, being the number one penetrated brand in the off-trade,” said Mark Wingfield Digby, off-trade sales director at Budweiser Brewing Group. Similarly, he said Stella was still “a leading premium option within the world beer category”.

However, shoppers are migrating towards smaller Continental brands, including Kronenbourg 1664 and San Miguel. Both have registered sturdy growth in value and volumes.

Cashing in most is Madrí Excepcional. Launched in grocery in February 2022, it is already worth £70.1m.

Its value grew 2,647.8% in the past year on volumes up 2,470.2% – making it the most successful alcohol brand of the year by every metric.