Scotland’s off trade top 50
In with the new
Ahead of what could be massive upheaval in the Scottish drinks trade, Scottish Grocer examines which brands are doing best in stores. Using exclusive data provided by market research firm Nielsen, our guide to the most valuable Scottish off-trade brands aims to provide retailers with hard numbers to help them make the decision of what to put on shelves. WE’RE just months away from the biggest shake-up of Scotland’s off-trade sector in living memory. With Minimum Unit Pricing set to be introduced on May 1, the industry is heading towards a significant turning point – and no-one’s quite sure what the outcome will be. With a number of valued brands set to increase dramatically in price, retailers across the country will be overhauling their ranges to suit the new landscape. To help inform those decisions, Scottish Grocer presents exclusive figures from Nielsen Scantrack that show which beer, wine and spirit brands sold best in Scotland in the past year. We’ll then dig a little deeper to find the key stories in a host of drinks categories – with expert commentary provided, where possible, by members of the analytical team at Nielsen. The figures cover all of Scotland’s offtrade, so some brands’ placing and performance might reflect strong listings in supermarkets or a position of strength in convenience outlets.
If a Scottish convenience retailer has a licence, it’s likely they’ll already be selling most of the top sellers in our top 50. But with Minimum Unit Pricing due to be introduced soon, a big shake-up could be on the cards.
At the top of the table, Smirnoff Red Label continues to sit comfortably with only a 0.4% drop in sales. Tennent’s ought to be happy with a performance that saw it retain sales while moving up to the number two position – though this has more to do with Glen’s losing 12.5% of sales and sliding down to third place (likely due to a
price rise well above the market). Buckfast Tonic Wine, which last year broke into the top 10, moves up a spot with value sales growth of 9.9% suggesting its popularity continues to grow. Meanwhile, Gordon’s jumps two places, boosted by the public’s continuing fascination with gin.
Drams, ales and liqueurs among the rising stars DELVING into the figures provided exclusively to Scottish Grocer by leading market research company Nielsen, it’s easy to locate some obvious rising stars – brands that have dramatically improved their sales to earn themselves a place on most shrewd retailers’ radar. Of those brands that have boosted their distribution by more than +10% – excluding NPD – one of the most impressive is Tamnavulin single malt from Whyte & Mackay, which launched in 2016 with an RRP of £32. Sales increased by +371.3% in 2017 to reach £1.7m, with the price per litre relatively unchanged.
Hop House 13 Lager managed a similarly impressive feat, increasing sales by +326.2% to take £1.7m, with the price per litre down -8% on the previous year. Also doing well was Edinburgh Gin’s Rhubarb & Ginger Liqueur, which started from a base of £711,000 to reach almost £3m by the end of 2017 – an increase of +316.1% – while its price per litre actually increased +2%. Other growing brands worth a mention include Brewdog Elvis Juice (+303.6% to £1m), Smirnoff Raspberry and Pomegranate Cider (+291.5% to £1m) and Carling Apple Cider (up +233.3% to £759,000).
38 · Scottish Grocer · March 2018
(NEW) make up fD p38 - 60 Off-trade top 50.indd 1
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