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Bord Bia: ‘We’re not deterred’ by US challenges

12 March 2026 By Rupert Hohwieler

Ireland’s food and drink agency Bord Bia has highlighted the UK as a market with ‘huge growth potential’ for the country’s whiskey and other spirits.

Irish food and drink agency Bord Bia has listed the UK as a key growth market for Ireland’s exports in the years ahead.

In its Export Performance and Prospects Report 2025/26, Bord Bia revealed the value of total drinks exports from Ireland was up by 2% to €2 billion (US$2.3bn) in 2025. Exports of Irish whiskey, meanwhile, which make up 45% of total drinks export value, declined by 5% to approximately €930 million (US$1.1bn).

While the US, Ireland’s biggest export market, is caught in an ongoing web of various headwinds, Bord Bia said it sees the UK as a market with ‘huge growth potential’.

Speaking to The Spirits Business at Bord Bia’s Meet the Makers trade event in London in February, drinks category manager Estelle Alley noted that the UK is the third biggest market for the sector for Ireland’s food and drink exports.

According to IWSR data, Irish whiskey grew by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.1% in the UK from 2023 to 2024.

But it’s the super-premium bracket where Irish whiskey can make a dent. The tier grew by 20.2% from 2019-2024 in the UK, then by 13.7% from 2023-2024, and is projected to see 8.8% growth from 2024-2029.

“The UK is such an important market for all of our food and drink, and we’ve definitely seen a movement towards Irish. Even within Irish [we’ve seen] a movement from premium to super-premium,” Alley said.

“Super-premium, being above £40 (US$53) a bottle at retail value, is where a lot of our Irish whiskey sits. The ‘premiumness’ of our Irish whiskeys is the reputation we want to drive, because of the craftsmanship and standards that we have behind distilling in Ireland.”

Whiskey growth in the UK has largely been driven by Jameson over the last five years, however smaller players and challenger brands are garnering interest too. Alley highlighted that Bord Bia had brought together 19 makers at the London event hosted at the Irish Embassy.

“What is the landscape? I think there’s huge growth potential across all spirits, but whiskey will always be the focus and will be the drive of that,” she added.

When it comes to the UK’s whisky consumption, Ireland’s market share is still very small, accounting for just 8.8% in 2024 compared with the 26.4% share taken by US-made whiskey and Scotch whisky’s 63.3% share.

Sales of Irish whiskey in the UK hit the 698,000 nine-litre case mark in 2024, according to IWSR drinks market analysis.

Cream liqueurs: opportunity for challenger brands

Away from whiskey, Irish cream liqueur saw export value increase by 10% to €430m (US$502m) in 2025, up by 20% since 2023. In the UK, the segment grew by more than 20%.

Coole Swan is listed in Tesco stores in the UK

“Cream liqueur is doing well, and obviously it’s been driven by Baileys,” Alley said, noting that the Diageo-owned brand has seen “a lot of discounting”.

“Baileys is driving volume growth, but we do see an opportunity from a value growth perspective, as well for new brands,” she said, citing some of the participants of the London event, including Coole Swan, which is listed in Tesco and made with a white chocolate base; Galway-based Micil, made with heritage poitín; and Five Farms, crafted with dairy sourced from five farms in Cork, which she described as “a localised story and a great, great brand”.

“They’re all looking for opportunities here within the off-trade as well and trying to really boost distribution,” Alley continued.

“UK culture is very close to Ireland’s, so we know that there’s momentum here. It helps that Irish whiskey also has such a strong reputation behind it; we know the credibility, the sustainability.

“For distribution, we feel that if we get to more people and get that broader appeal, that would be where the real win would be,” she said.

US challenges: ‘We’re not deterred at all’

Irish whiskey exports are currently down by 5% in the US, and Alley said this was expected, mainly due to tariffs. “Before the trade agreements in the US, there was a lot of volume that was sent over to try and get ahead of all of that,” she explained, adding that exports had been “a little bit more pulled back” until those tariffs were finalised.

Despite the dip, she asserted that “we’re never going to be walking away from it [the US], absolutely not”.

She said: “Jameson will come out and say this as well, but there’s been a lot of volume growth, and there’s been a lot of looking for extra volume, and then discounting in that respect.

“There’s a general consensus in the Irish industry that we need to look after and go after value growth, and that means that we’re looking more strategically and more commercially. We should be looking at value growth, and that is going to come from that premiumisation.”

In terms of emerging markets, Alley highlighted South Africa, India and Nigeria as countries where Bord Bia is expending effort and attending new trade shows. Australia is also seeing growth for Irish spirits.

“If you see Bord Bia doing a new trade show in a certain market, that means we see it as emerging,” she clarified.

“The US is a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity to look elsewhere. We’ll always diversify anyway, however, we’re not deterred from the US situation at all.”

‘We need to look and feel like strong brands’

Looking ahead, Alley contended that Bord Bia’s ambition for Irish spirits in the UK won’t be achieved overnight.

“This is a long-term strategy,” she said. “I think the outlook is positive, but any brand coming into the UK market has to be thinking long term. There almost has to be an upfront investment for wins in the future, and we’re seeing brands already in retail and off-trade constantly investing to maintain their listings. Nothing comes easy.”

Bord Bia’s latest report puts Irish whiskey ninth in value terms in the global premium-plus spirits category.

To get to the top five, Alley said that “innovation and the investment needs to continue”, but for the consumer, “a lot of things also need to fall in place”.

“We need certain assumptions that trade will improve, and ultimately – globally – pricing strategies to improve in terms of value focus as opposed to volume growth,” she added.

“We need a lot of brand investment to compete with the likes of Scotch because you’ve got such premium brands there, and real heritage brands as well.

“If we want to step up to that level, there will be a lot of investment required, and we are doing that from a physical investment in a capex [capital expenditure] perspective and innovation. But we also need to look and feel like strong brands as well.”

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