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World Spirits Report 2024: Liqueurs & speciality spirits
As the cost‐of‐living crisis continues to bite, consumers are prioritising flavour and the quality of ingredients in their serves, and the liqueurs and speciality spirits sectors are reaping the benefit.
It has been another steady year of growth for the liqueurs sector, as, according to Euromonitor International, the category’s sales by volume for 2024 are set to end at 130.7 million nine‐litre cases, up from 129m in 2023. This year’s forecast figures by value are estimated to reach US$52.7 billion, up from US$50.6bn last year.
While the at‐home bartending wave ignited by the Covid‐19 pandemic may have waned, rising inflation has kept the trend buoyant enough to keep liqueurs in favour with at‐ home consumers. A survey from December 2023 said 30% of Millennials kick off social gatherings with homemade cocktails, a significant increase from 16% five years ago.
Giuseppe Gallo, founder of Italian liqueur brands Italicus and Savoia, explains: “At‐ home consumption has seen a noticeable resurgence, driven partly by the economic climate and the rise of the at‐home mixology trend. Consumers are increasingly looking for ways to replicate premium bar experiences in the comfort of their homes.”
However, what is perhaps influencing home mixologists more is their desire for indulgence, something that liqueurs often possess. Commenting on a report in November 2024, Matthew Benny, chief commercial officer at Creamy Creation, notes “cream liqueurs innately have premium quality”, which, in turn, adds to their appeal when seeking something luxurious. Their typically lower ABV also taps into the growing trend of more considered alcohol consumption. “These products align with broader consumer trends prioritising balance, quality and moderation,” Gallo says.
However, when British consumers are visiting the on‐trade, Paragon Brands found that almost a third have begun to move in the direction of cocktail shooters – a shot that combines a mixture of spirits. This is huge for the liqueurs category, as they are often both the flavour and texture drivers of this style of serve. The Baby Guinness – a shot of Kahlúa with a Baileys float – was found to be a key contributor to Kahlúa’s 19% growth in 2023, and one of the reasons why the cream liqueurs category grew by 29.8% that year in Britain’s on‐trade. As the trend grows, thanks in part to the creativity of liqueur brands such as Licor 43, who debuted the Baby Lager in the UK on‐trade this year, other producers in the category may start to see the benefit.
Another trend that has driven growth in the sector is coffee‐flavoured cocktails. According to NIQ by CGA’s cocktail tracker, orders for Espresso Martinis doubled in 2023, and in the past year, interest in the coffee‐based serve has grown by 34%, with 1.4m online searches for the cocktail made per month. Creamy Creation notes that 40% of its new enquiries are about Espresso Martinis, and according to Olivia Kupfer, global and US brand director at Mr Black Coffee Liqueur, the coffee liqueur sector is now worth in excess of US$293 million on account of the cocktail’s success.
Craig van Niekerk, Kahlúa’s vice‐president of global marketing at The Absolut Group, says that as “the brand most associated with the Espresso Martini”, Kahlúa had both fuelled and benefitted from the global Espresso Martini zeitgeist.
Brands to watch in 2025
Kahlúa
It may seem obvious to say to keep an eye on the fourth biggest‐selling liqueur brand in the world, but the Pernod Ricard‐owned coffee‐based liqueur saw some mighty growth in the past year, and if its latest run of influential celebrity partnerships and creative campaigns are anything to go by, that growth won’t be slowing down in 2025.
Allora
The Spirits Business Awards 2024 winner for Best New Product, Allora, has had an impressive second year in business, having found success in the British on‐trade, and recently launching its product in Italy. Now, the brand says its aim is to “own the aperitivo moment” in the UK, by demonstrating just how versatile its lemon‐based liqueur is.
Licor 43
This year, the Spanish brand has really leant into the fact that its product is first and foremost ‘yummy’ by putting flavour at the fore with a series of activations, including jumping on the Instagrammable ‘baby cocktails’ craze. By prioritising flavour and aesthetic‐forward trends such as this, younger demographics such as Gen Z are likely going to contribute to the brand’s continued growth in 2025.
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