Prosecco growing but Champagne is still king on the bar

25-Aug-2015 - Last updated on 26-Aug-2015 at 15:37 GMT

Data from CGA Strategy suggests that sparkling wine drinking trends in the on-trade differ significantly from those in the off-trade.

A widely reported study last week showed that Prosecco sales had overtaken Champagne in the UK. However, this data only took into account off-trade sales.

Sales data from the CGA Brand Index 2015 shows Champagne sales in bars, pubs and restaurants remains significantly higher than sales of Prosecco and sparkling wine, with values for Champagne approximately £417.5m with all other sparkling wines collectively totaling just under £300m.

Prosecco has performed exceptionally well, increasing in value by 76.6% this year, and 281.6% overall in the past two years, with almost 29,000 hectolitres sold in the past 12 months.

Prosecco Value £m

Champagne Value £m

As we can see from the above charts the amount of growth in Prosecco far outstrips Champagne growth, although Champagne has a much higher base value currently.

This suggests Prosecco is bringing new drinkers into the fizz category, as volumes of Champagne have retained modest growth in the past three years, meaning Prosecco is not cannibalising sales from Champagne.

Challenge

Andrew Shaw, buying director at Bibendum PLB, said: “The challenge for Prosecco is that it’s taken the world by storm, but now we have to think what’s next. What it’s important to realise is that Prosecco isn’t traded on brands like Champagne is. If you ask the ladies at Ascot what they drink they’ll say Laurent Perrier Rose not rose Champagne, at Henley they’ll say Moёt.

"Ask someone what Prosecco they drink and they won’t even know the difference between DOC and DOCG let alone the brand. There’s very little cross over between the Prosecco and Champagne categories, Prosecco has taken drinkers from white wine and Cava, not Champagne.”

Helen Cooling, wine category specialist at Wilds Premier Drinks Distributor, expects the Prosecco category to keep growing, but for other sparkling variants to become more popular.

“The Prosecco trend will continue but, as the price grows, people will move to other sparkling wines. Keep your eye on more competitively priced sparkling varieties like Cava and other less well-known drops.

“Higher-end restaurants and food-led pubs are looking for more exclusivity – something new they can’t get anywhere else, the exception is Champagne, where brands are key.”

* All statistics given are MAT (moving annual target).