Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
- 2017 sees an uplift in alcoholic drink sales
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- Figure 1: Forecast of value sales of the alcoholic drinks market, at current prices, 2012-22
- Beer values forge ahead in 2017
- The wine market also returned to growth in 2017
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- Figure 2: Total UK value sales of alcoholic drinks, by segment, 2012, 2017 and 2022
- Many consumers are limiting alcohol intake
- Alcohol duty has driven up drink prices
- Companies and brands
- Beer brands dominate the off-trade top five
- Leading off-trade brands post mixed growth
- Premiumisation prevalent across different categories
- Fruit and flavoured launches continue to be explored
- Low-alcohol/alcohol-free launches come to the fore in beer and wine
- Advertising on alcoholic drinks has fallen but steadied in 2017
- Heineken and Diageo are largest advertisers over 2013-17
- The consumer
- 82% of adults drink alcoholic drinks
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- Figure 3: Usage of types of alcoholic drinks, November 2017
- Many Brits moderate their drinking
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- Figure 4: Alcohol units consumed in a typical week, November 2017
- In-store purchases remain key for alcoholic drinks
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- Figure 5: Locations for buying alcoholic drinks (overall nets), November 2017
- Flavour is key for drinkers
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- Figure 6: Choice factors when buying alcoholic drinks, November 2017
- A quality over quantity mindset prevails…
- …while binge drinking is deemed uncool
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- Figure 7: Attitudes towards alcoholic drinks, November 2017
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Low- and non-alcoholic drinks can keep brands on the menu as people moderate drinking
- The facts
- The implications
- Quality over quantity mindset continues to lend opportunities for premium proposition
- The facts
- The implications
- Further scope to build social media interaction with drinkers
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- 2017 sees an uplift in alcoholic drink sales
- Beer volumes bounce back and values forge ahead in 2017
- The wine market also returned to growth in 2017
- Many consumers are limiting alcohol intake
- Alcohol duty has driven up drink prices
Market Size and Channels to Market
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- 2017 sees an uplift in alcoholic drink sales
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- Figure 8: Total UK value and volume sales of alcoholic drinks, by segment, 2012-22
- Figure 9: Forecast of value sales of the alcoholic drinks market, at current prices, 2012-22
- Figure 10: Forecast of volume sales of the alcoholic drinks market, 2012-22
- Forecast methodology
- On-trade drink sales lag behind the off-trade
- Online retailers growing in popularity to boost off-trade numbers
Market Segmentation
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- Beer volumes bounce back and values forge ahead in 2017
- Lager sales propped up by the off-trade
- The wine market also returned to growth in 2017
- Still wine volumes continue to slide
- Cider volume sales enjoy modest growth in 2017
- Vodka and gin drive white spirits growth
- Inflation drives dark spirits and liqueurs growth
- Value sales by segment
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- Figure 11: Total UK value sales of alcoholic drinks, by segment, 2012-22
- Figure 12: Value sales of alcoholic drinks, by channel, 2015-17
- Volume sales by segment
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- Figure 13: Total UK volume sales of alcoholic drinks, by segment, 2012-22
- Figure 14: Volume sales of alcoholic drinks, by channel, 2015-17
Market Drivers
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- Many consumers are limiting alcohol intake
- Income squeeze and price rises
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- Figure 15: Annual exchange rates for Sterling against key currencies, 2012-17
- Reduced guidelines on alcohol intake in 2016
- Minimum unit pricing gains Supreme Court backing
- Alcohol duty has driven up drink prices
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- Figure 16: UK excise duty rates for alcoholic drinks, 2007-17
- Pub closures remain commonplace
- Weather shapes consumption trends
- An ageing population could pose a threat to alcoholic drink sales
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- Figure 17: Change in age structure of the over-20 UK population, 2012-17 and 2017-22
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Beer brands dominate the off-trade top five
- Leading off-trade brands post mixed growth
- Premiumisation prevalent across different categories
- Fruit and flavoured launches continue to be explored
- Low-alcohol/alcohol-free launches come to the fore in beer and wine
- Advertising on alcoholic drinks has fallen but steadied in 2017
- Heineken and Diageo are largest advertisers over 2013-17
Market Share
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- Beer brands dominate the off-trade top five
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- Figure 18: UK retail value sales of the top 20 alcoholic drink brands, 2015-2017
- Foster’s and Carlsberg face challenges from delistings
- Fruit ciders continue to soar
- Smirnoff and Gordon’s grow in white spirits
- Famous Grouse returns to growth
- Leading wine brands struggle
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Alcohol brands continue to invest in NPD
- Premiumisation prevalent across different categories
- Craft drives premium beer NPD
- Premium cider launches emphasise their heritage
- Retailers push premiumisation in wine
- Premium launches prevalent within dark spirits and liqueurs…
- …while white spirit brands focus on ingredients such as botanicals
- Fruit and flavoured launches continue to be explored
- Further growth in flavoured ciders
- Blossom Hill looks to tap into the growth of fruit wine
- Diageo also targets Millennials with pink gin
- Low-alcohol/alcohol-free launches come to the fore in beer and wine
- Two high-profile beer launches in 2017
- Lower-alcohol wine launches on the up
- Crossover brands blur category boundaries
- Packaging innovation focuses on smaller cans and pouches
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Advertising on alcoholic drinks in decline in recent years
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- Figure 19: Total above-the-line, online display and mail advertising spend on alcoholic drinks, 2013-17
- Figure 20: Total above-the-line, online display and mail advertising spend on alcoholic drinks, by category, 2013-17
- TV still leads the way but appears to be falling out of favour
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- Figure 21: Total above-the-line, online display and mail advertising spend on alcoholic drinks, by media type, 2013-17
- Heineken remains the largest advertiser over the 2013-17 period
- AB InBev ups support for Budweiser, Carlsberg invests in San Miguel
- Diageo maintains strong backing for Guinness and boosts spirit support
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- Figure 22: Total above-the-line, online display and mail advertising spend on alcoholic drinks, by company, 2013-17 (sorted by 2013-17 total)
- Figure 23: Total above-the-line, online display and mail advertising spend on alcoholic drinks, by brand, 2013-17 (sorted by 2013-17)
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- 82% of adults drink alcoholic drinks
- Many Brits moderating their drinking
- In-store channel still top for alcoholic drinks
- Flavour is key for drinkers
- A quality over quantity mindset prevails
- 61% of drink buyers agree that getting drunk is uncool
Usage of Alcoholic Drinks
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- 82% of adults drink alcoholic drinks
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- Figure 24: Usage of alcoholic drinks (nets), November 2017
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- Figure 25: Repertoire of usage of types of alcoholic drinks, November 2017
- Still wine and lager are the most popular drinks types
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- Figure 26: Usage of alcoholic drinks by type, November 2017
- Cider’s high penetration belies a category with issues
- Different spirits appeal to different groups
- Prosecco continues to fizz
Weekly Alcohol Intake
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- Less than one in five drinkers exceeds recommended weekly intake
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- Figure 27: Alcohol units consumed in a typical week, November 2017
- Women are less likely weekly drinkers than men
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- Figure 28: Alcohol units consumed in a typical week, by gender, November 2017
Locations for Buying Alcoholic Drinks
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- In-store purchases are key for alcoholic drinks
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- Figure 29: Locations for buying alcoholic drinks (overall nets), November 2017
- In-store purchases driven by supermarkets
- Discounters do better on grocery than drinks
- Leisure activities remain popular
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- Figure 30: Locations for buying alcoholic drinks (nets by type of drink), November 2017
- Online buying still niche in drinks
- 25-34-year-olds drive online buying
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- Figure 31: Locations for buying alcoholic drinks, November 2017
Choice Factors
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- Flavour is key for drinkers, ABV matters to two in five
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- Figure 32: Choice factors when buying alcoholic drinks, November 2017
- Brand size influences one in five, production method just 6%
- Packaging factors are peripheral
- Little reported interest in packaging materials
- …and even less in packaging styles
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- Figure 33: Style of packaging as a choice factor, by age, November 2017
- Country of production influences one in five over-55s
Attitudes towards Alcoholic Drinks
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- A quality over quantity mindset prevails
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- Figure 34: Attitudes towards the price/quality of alcoholic drinks, November 2017
- Rising prices leading many to moderate pub visits
- Supermarket multibuys appeal widely
- Health factors are also contributing towards moderation
- Calorie and alcohol unit details can help assuage health concerns
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- Figure 35: Attitudes towards health and alcoholic drinks, November 2017
- Low- and non-alcoholic drinks on the rise
- Collaboration drinks appeal to one in three
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- Figure 36: Attitudes towards alcoholic drink brands and producers, November 2017
- British-made drinks appeal to one in four
- Social media can resonate with 25-34s
Further Attitudes towards Alcoholic Drinks
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- Three in five drinkers think than getting drunk is uncool
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- Figure 37: Agreement with the statement “Getting drunk is uncool”, November 2017
- Confusion around craft continues
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- Figure 38: Agreement with the statement “It’s hard to tell which brands are craft”, November 2017
- Streamlined drinks ranges could benefit retailers
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- Figure 39: Agreement with the statements “The amount of choice in supermarkets can make it hard to choose a drink” and “It’s difficult to find information on packaging about the calorie content”, November 2017
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Forecast methodology
- Best- and worst-case forecast data
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- Figure 40: Total UK value sales of alcoholic drinks, best- and worst-case forecast, 2017-22
- Figure 41: Total UK volume sales of alcoholic drinks, best- and worst-case forecast, 2017-22
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