William Grant & Sons shows premium spirits boom in market report

Premium spirits are continuing to boost the UK on-trade market despite Smirnoff Red Label topping the value charts, according to the William Grant & Sons market report for 2017.

According to the distilling giants, a 3.1% rise in the value of the spirits market to £6bn has been driven by premium spirits, which have grown 8.7%.

“An element of consistency remains with the trends identified in the last two market reports,” said Gary Keogh, marketing director at William Grant & Sons UK.

“Consumers are looking for brands to have a point of view, share their values, and meet their heightening expectations more than ever before.”

The report also shows that non-flavoured vodka remains the most valuable spirits category with a 29.3% value share, nearly three times the value of non-creamed liquors in second place.

Although the vodka trend continues to dominate the UK market, both the volume share and value share has declined over the past year while gin and flavoured rum showed double digit growth in the respected areas.