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.
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The figures in Scottish Grocer’s exclusive Scottish off-trade’s most valuable brands guide are provided by leading market research company Nielsen.
Figures are Nielsen ScanTrack for total Scottish off-trade and are moving annual totals (MATs) for the year to 30 December 2017 and are compared to the MATs for the previous year – to 31 December 2016.
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[/half]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 off-trade, so some brands’ placing and performance might reflect strong listings in supermarkets or a position of strength in convenience outlets.
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.
Beyond the top 10, Russian Standard has had a good year, recording a 10.9% sales boost, as has Bombay Sapphire, rising 22 places in the list with 18.3% growth.
Additionally, after a tough few years for cider, there are signs the category is turning around with overall sales up 2.7% and brands such as Strongbow Dark Fruit and Magners Original seeing considerable growth.
What’s truly striking about this year’s top 50 is how many new entries there are. While last year saw only two new entries, this year there are 16, most taking between £3m and £5m in sales, perhaps illustrating the volatility at this end of the market as consumers continue to seek more variety.
The highest new entry on the list is San Miguel, breaking into the top 30 at 29, with a 25.6% increase in sales.
Another new entry is Scotland’s top-selling RTD WKD, coming in at 34 with sales growth of 0.3%, in a year which has generally been very positive for the category.
Rounding out the list is a variety of beers, gins, vodkas, cider, whisky and brandy – all categories that can be explored in further detail in the following pages.
