For the first time since 2019 SLTN is able to list the top brands in Scotland
IT’S the first SLTN Top Brands feature in three years and not all is as it once was in terms of on-trade drinks sales.
In 2019, three years and what may seem like a century ago, CGA reported on-trade sales of alcohol in Scotland as being worth around £2.4 billion.
In 2022 the figure is now a little over £2bn.
The values of several drinks categories – including lager, ale and cider – have dipped significantly between that 2019 Top Brands feature and this one, while others, such as vodka, seem to have seen a resurgence.
Needless to say, on-trade drinks sales in 2022 is very much a market in flux as hospitality businesses contend with rising costs, staff shortages and wavering confidence from customers unsure of how they will cope with the soaring cost of living.
The 12-month period covered by CGA’s figures also takes in Christmas 2021, which was famously disastrous for the Scottish hospitality industry.
It remains to be seen, then, whether this year’s report reflects any lasting trends in the marketplace or whether it is simply a snapshot of an industry at a particular time in history.
Either way, on the following pages you will find details of the top 40 alcohol brands in the Scottish on-trade in 2022.
The data for the Top Brands feature was supplied by CGA and drawn from the company’s On Premise Measurement Service. It covers value sales of alcohol in the Scottish on-trade during the period between June 2021 and June 2022.
In previous Top Brands features, CGA’s data has indicated which brands have moved up or down the list in a comparison with the previous year’s figures.
Obviously, drinks sales in 2020 will have been heavily impacted by the pandemic and the trading restrictions in place at various times of the year and in different parts of the country, and so a direct 2020/21 and 2021/22 comparison isn’t available.
1. Tennent’s Lager, C&C Group
At a time of great uncertainty across Scotland, the UK and the wider world one thing seems constant: Scottish pub-goers love Tennent’s Lager. The undisputed king of the Scottish on-trade continues to reign supreme in this year’s Top Brands list as both the trade’s favourite pint and favourite alcohol brand overall.
The past year has seen Tennent’s continue to look to the future as it invests in sustainable technology and practices, as well as launching a new online training course for pubs and bars.
2. Smirnoff, Diageo
Vodka sales increased in value over the past three years, and the biggest player in the game is bound to have benefited.
Recent years have seen Smirnoff – along with several other spirits brands (see Diageo stablemate Gordon’s below) – embrace the growing flavoured spirits market and the vodka range now includes variants such as Smirnoff Mango & Passionfruit Twist and Smirnoff Raspberry Crush in addition to the flagship Smirnoff No.21.
3.Captain Morgan, Diageo
The swashbuckling Captain Morgan has long been a favourite among sweet-toothed Scots, and this continues to be the case in 2022.
Diageo supported the brand this year with the launch of the new Captain Morgan Tiki drink – a 25% ABV spirit drink described as having pineapple and mango flavours and which is designed for mixing with lemonade.
The wider Captain Morgan brand also benefited from the launch of the Spice On marketing campaign, featuring presenter, musician and chef Zuhair Hassan, aka Big Zuu.
4. Guinness, Diageo
Scotland’s second-favourite pint – and fourth-favourite alcohol brand – shows that bars and pubs can’t survive on lager alone.
Despite tracing its roots back to 1759, Guinness is a brand that continues to evolve. Recent innovations have included the launch of Guinness 0.0 and a pledge that the Guinness lorry fleet will be 100% emission-free by 2030. The first zero-emission vehicles were introduced this summer.
Meanwhile, Diageo unveiled plans for a £73 million Guinness microbrewery and ‘culture hub’ to be built in London.
Guinness is no stranger to big plans. When he launched the brand, founder Arthur Guinness is said to have signed a nine thousand-year lease on the St James Gate brewery site in Dublin. Talk about forward thinking.
5. Gordon’s, Diageo
The gin boom of recent years was quickly followed by the flavoured gin boom, and market leader Gordon’s ensured it didn’t miss out with the launch of several flavoured products. As well as the core Gordon’s London Dry gin, the range now includes Gordon’s Pink, Gordon’s Sloe, Gordon’s with Elderflower, Sicilian Lemon, and Morello Cherry.
This year the growing stable was joined by Gordon’s Tropical Passionfruit (pictured) as brand owner Diageo aims to appeal to as broad a section of gin drinkers as possible.
Several of the variants are now also available in alcohol-free versions as Diageo looks to tap into that growing market.
6. Peroni Nastro Azzurro
7. Birra Moretti
8. Stella Artois
9. Carling
10. Belhaven Best
11. Jack Daniel’s
12. Strongbow
13. Moët & Chandon
14. Absolut
15. Corona Extra
16. The Famous Grouse
17. Kopparberg
18. Coors
19. Jägermeister
20. Tanqueray
21. John Smith’s
22. Heineken
23. Innis & Gunn Lager
24. Foster’s
25. Magners Original
26. Bacardi
27. Budweiser
28. Baileys
29. Sourz
30. Oliver & Greg’s
31. Heverlee
32. Amstel
33. Caledonia Best
34. Kraken
35. John Smith’s
36. WKD
37. Johnnie Walker
38. Whyte & Mackay
39. Ciroc
40. Beefeater
