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Premium mixer sales soar 81.3% in UK on-trade
Premium mixer sales in the UK on-trade grew 81.3% in the 12 months to April 2019, according to the inaugural Fentimans Market Report.
Fentimans has released its first UK On-Trade Premium Soft Drinks and Mixers Market Report
The UK On-Trade Premium Soft Drinks and Mixers Market Report 2019 showed premium mixer sales in the UK reached £323.1 million (US$407m) during the 12-month period, according to the CGA On Premise Measurement Tool, reflecting the “boom in high-end drinking”. The mixer category is the top non-alcoholic drinks category by value.
Flavoured carbonates grew 5.6% to £47.1m, while lemonade sales experienced a 6.1% increase to £36.5m.
The report said CGA’s data suggested the growth in premium drinks is being driven by “small craft and medium-sized brands”. Premium soft drinks account for 11.5% of total soft drinks sales by value and have “stolen share from mainstream brands over recent years”.
Mixer sales are growing faster by value compared to volume, supporting the premiumisation movement. While value sales of soft drinks and mixers were up 5.4% in the 12 months to April, volume growth was reported at 1.8%.
Spirits and sugar tax
Premium spirits demonstrated a similar trend, growing 6.7% by value but only 2.6% by volume, according to the CGA On Premise Measurement Tool, suggesting a “demand for higher quality”.
“The trend is particularly apparent in the gin category, where numerous new brands have joined the market in recent years,” the report said. “It has an obvious knock-on mixers, with more and more consumers selecting premium mixers to accompany their premium spirits.”
Furthermore, the market report highlighted the impact the recent ‘sugar tax’ has had on the drinks industry.
According to the Fentimans Market Report, more than 50% of manufacturers reduced the sugar content of their drinks in the lead-up to the tax coming into effect. This equated to the removal of 45m kilograms of sugar, according to data quoted from HM Treasury research.
CGA’s figures subsequently showed that low-calorie options have increased their share of the soft drinks market from 31.1% to 36.4% in the year after the tax was introduced.