Britain's biggest alcohol brands 2016: The challengers

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Five brands have bowed out of the top 100 in the past year, and, as British tastes in booze continue to change, there’s no shortage of players whose places in the list look far from secure. Here’s our pick of 10 brands steaming towards the hallowed top 100. The question is: have they got what it takes to steal a spot in next year’s list?

glenmorangie

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Glenmorangie

Sales: £19.9m Growth: +11.6%

The top 100 looks set to welcome its second single malt in the coming year (Glenfiddich is currently the only one, at 85), as Glenmorangie continues to make gains. The past year has seen the brand add £2.1m to its value, with the Original malt delivering the lion’s share of that. The Midwinter’s Night Dram special edition launched for last Christmas racked up £900k.

buckfast BBAB

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Buckfast Tonic Wine

Sales: £19.7m Growth: +27.9%

Building on the £3.1m growth we reported a year ago, the Bucky has grabbed another £4.3m in sales on volumes up 28.4%. The 25cl can format - launched in May 2014 - played a big part in its continued growth alongside new c-store listings, says the brand. A brand new website and its presence at shows such as BBC Good Food also helped.

bollinger

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Bollinger

Sales: £17.6m Growth: +34.4%

Bolly is powering towards the top 100 with growth worth £4.5m in the supermarkets. That’s the greatest growth of any Champagne brand. The brand is also the most expensive of the big names, selling for an average of £44.74 a litre, though that is 4.6% less than a year ago. The return of Bolly-swilling Patsy and Edina in the Absolutely Fabulous movie should help.

k cider

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K

Sales: £17.1m Growth: +14.6%

The past 12 months represent a “return to normality” for C&C’s strong cider brand after labouring under an excess of stock in the market, says group COO Mark Boulos. “We were overly exposed to two or three customers; it has quite a heavy London bias and we opened up the market to a couple of other customers, who took distribution out of London and got us a bit of volume.”

birra moretti

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Birra Moretti

Sales: £16.8m Growth: +35.8%

Britain’s other big Italian beer - aside from Peroni (23) - is up £4.4m after distribution gains in convenience, where multibuys on 660ml bottles have contributed to a 2% dip in price, and new packaging trumpeting Moretti’s Italian roots. Heineken says marketing aimed at cementing the brand’s association with food has helped it grow at twice the rate of the world lager sector.

three mills

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Three Mills

Sales: £15.8m Growth: +17.1%

Proof that it’s not just premium wine that’s in growth, British-made Three Mills has added £2.3m. With an average price of just £4.02 a litre, if this were a top 100 wine it would be the cheapest by nearly £2. Growth has been driven by new formats - 18.7cl, 2.25L and 1.5L pouches - as well as a new Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. If it carries on at this rate, it will soon be a top 100 brand.

laurent perrier champagne

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Laurent Perrier

Sales: £15.4m Growth: +22.0%

Chin chin! Here’s another Champagne brand fizzing ever closer to the top 100. Laurent Perrier has added £2.8m to its value but, unlike its peers, without lowering average price. That’s up 0.4% to £43.04 a litre; more proof of growing demand for premium drinks. The only big champagne brand in decline is Nicolas Feuillatte, which sells for nearly half the price of Perrier.

kirov

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Kirov

Sales: £14.1m Growth: +140.9%

It’s been a good year for vodka, and even better for rising star Kirov, which has put an extra £8.2m through the tills of its predominantly convenience-orientated customers. A 4.7% decline in average price to £16.01 a litre certainly seems to have helped the Halewood International-owned brand, undercutting the top 100’s cheapest voddy, Green Mark, by 5p a litre.

parra alta wine

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Parra Alta

Sales: £12.7m Growth: +40.1%

Combining an everyday low pricing strategy with an on-trend wine that has excellent food pairing opportunities has certainly paid off for Parra Alta Malbec. The Argentinian wine, distributed by Concha y Toro in the UK, saw averages prices fall by 6.4% to £6.75 a litre over the past year. Bagging a few awards also helped build consumer confidence.

straw hat

144 (178)

The Straw Hat

Sales: £12.2m Growth: +30.0%

The second British-made wine (see Three Mills, above) to catch our eye this year, Straw Hat has seen sales surge £2.8m thanks to growing distribution. The brand’s Prestige Collection is available in Tesco, Iceland and discount channels such as Bargain Booze. At £4.88 a litre, the brand’s average price has fallen 4.4% as availability has grown.