UK spirits suppliers post 171% sales boost
Spirits outperformed all other drinks categories in the UK with average annual supplier sales soaring by 171% last year, according to a report by inventory management platform Unleashed.
The UK Food & Beverage Small Business Performance from Unleashed looked at anonymised UK data from more than 1,900 small- and medium-sized food and beverage firms across seven grocery categories.
The report analysed six drinks categories: spirits, soft drinks, water/health drinks, coffee, beer and wine.
It found that for spirits suppliers, average sales revenue surged by 171.31% from £574,775 (US$755,619) in 2023 to £1.56 million (US$2.05m) in 2024.
It was one of four drinks segments to post growth in terms of average annual sales.
Soft drinks experienced 77% growth to £2.4m (US$3.15m) in annual revenue last year, followed by water/health drinks (up 22.7% to £2.93m/US$3.85m) and wine (up 14% to £1.46m/US$1.92m).
Beer reported a 24.5% drop in average annual revenue to £459,222 (US$603,709) last year.
The report also assessed each category on its Gross Margin Return On Inventory (GMROI) investment, which measures a firm’s ability to turn money spent on raw materials into profit.
Water/health drinks saw the biggest rise in GMROI, up by 5.62% in 2024 to £2.26 (US$3).
Businesses in the spirits sector generated an average of £2.08 for every pound spent on inventory last year, a slight increase of 1.2% on the £2.06 figure achieved in 2023.
In comparison, beer suffered a 36% drop from £2.61 in 2023 to £1.67 in 2024. Wine plummeted by 53.5% to £2.61 last year (2023: £5.61).
Joe Llewellyn, general manager of ERP Small Business at The Access Group, parent company of Unleashed, said: “The strong sales performance seen last year across all categories is a sign that the UK’s small drinks manufacturers are adept at tapping into the public’s appetite for new food experiences.
“The UK is a leader in spirits, from Scotland’s malt whiskies to the many gin producers across every part of the country. As well as homegrown demand, there’s also a strong export market to capitalise on.
“This year margins will be front of mind for many, and our analysis showed that lead times have crept up, which supply-chain managers will no doubt be eyeing carefully.
“In this environment, tight inventory control will be a big help in ensuring small firms have the cash flow to stay ahead in a competitive market – by investing in product innovation, marketing and sales.”
According to data cited by Stock Spirits, the UK spirits market was valued at £50 billion (US$65.7bn) in 2022 (Mintel’s UK Alcoholic Drinks Industry Report 2024) and is expected to generate US$17.7bn in revenue by 2025 (Statista figures).
Gin’s recent decline in the UK can be largely attributed to falling volumes of flavoured variants, the IWSR noted.
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