It's been a tough few years for the spirits industry in the United Kingdom with the market facing several recent headwinds. Brexit initially caused trade disruption, then followed the pandemic with its pub closures and soon after, the war in Ukraine and it's affect on prices. Additionally, industry experts have raised concerns about the further increase in spirits prices due to increase in duty on spirits instituted in 2023. Already on an upward trend, the consumer price index for spirits saw a sharp increase during the year.
Production holding steady
About 6.4 million hectoliters of spirits were
produced in the UK in 2022. This was a slights decrease compared to the previous year, but inline with the trend since 2016. Exports of spirits and liqueurs (which do contain additives such as sugar as sweetener) increased by 37 percent to a
combined export value of 7.6 billion British pounds while
imports were valued at 988 million British pounds in 2022. Exports saw a significant decline due to Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic but have begun to recover. The leading
country of origin for spirits imported to the United Kingdom is France, with 182 million British pounds worth of imports, while the leading
destination for exports of spirits was the United States by a wide margin.
Consumer prices on the rise
Spirits consumers are currently weathering a large increase in prices. At the end of 2023, the consumer price index for spirits was up nine percent compared to the same time in 2022 and over 13 percent since 2023. When consumers are buying despite the increased prices, they tend to reach for spirits over liqueurs. The
brand most popular among UK consumers was Malibu with 2.8 million consumers while Smirnoff Red Label vodka reached almost double the number of people.
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