Gin remains the fastest growing spirit category among Irish consumers, up by 47.2% in 2017, with growth shared between both Irish and imported brands.
This comes from the Irish Spirits Association, who launched its Irish spirits industry and market report, which highlighted the changing pattern of consumer appetites with gin and whiskey proving to be the biggest growth markets for the drinks industry.
Premium Irish Whiskey grew by 40% in 2017 as more drinkers move up the value-chain making more conscientious choices about what they drink.
Irish Spirits' Dynamism
Patricia Callan, Director of Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) said that the report “showcases the dynamism within the Irish spirits sector, the sector is offering Irish consumer an extensive choice of high-quality products which are loved all around the world”.
The report noted that while sales of spirits in Ireland are up 4.6% in 2017, they are still lower than five years ago.
Three-quarters of Irish spirits are purchased through the off-trade, although most value comes from sales in the on-trade. In purchases, Vodka remains Ireland’s most popular spirits drink, taking up 33.2% of Ireland’s overall spirits consumption. This is then followed by Irish Whiskey, 24.4%, Gin, 11.2%, Rum, 7.7%, and Brandy, 4.9%.
“In Ireland, last year sales of Irish whiskey were up 5%, but sales of more expensive premium whiskeys were up over 40%. We are seeing Irish people moving from volume-based consumption to more conscientious value-based consumption,” Callan added.
“This proves that the people of Ireland are already leading the way when it comes responsible consumption. Alcohol consumption has declined by over 23% since 2003, according to the CSO and Revenue Commissioner data. This is happening in the absence of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill.”
While consumption of alcohol continues to fall at home, the report found that exports of Irish spirits are growing at an ever-increasing rate.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
