UK: Biggest alcohol brand sales falling faster than total drinks market

Sales of Britain's biggest alcohol brands are falling faster than the total drinks market, according to a new study.

The overall alcohol market has fallen 2.3% by volume year-on-year – but the nation's biggest players have been hit even harder, with the total volume sales of Britain's 100 largest drinks brands down by 2.8%, research for The Grocer found.

In terms of retail sales, the trend is the same – the major brands have grown an average of 1.3% against a market-wide increase of 2.1%.

The top beer and wine labels have been hardest hit, both dropping 4% by volume year-on-year, with retail sales down 0.3% and 0.7% respectively.

However, there were exceptions with Foster's, Corona, Coors Light, Cobra, McGuigan, Yellowtail and Barefoot recording strong growth.

Meanwhile, the average litre price of the top 100 brands has risen 2.7% year-on-year.

The research also revealed that new products are making the difference between growth and decline for some top brands, such as Jack Daniel's and Strongbow, which both launched new drinks.

24 July, 2013