Rum will overtake gin as the next big spirit

CGA commercial director Graeme Loudon told delegates at The Morning Advertiser​’s Future Trends: Spirits today (Wednesday 4 October) that golden rum volume will rise by 33% by 2020.

He said: “Golden rum is forecasted to grow faster than gin by 2020 with Tequila and malt whisky also performing well.

“Forecasted volume percentage change also shows that gin volumes will rise by 28%, Tequila by 13% and malt whisky up 9%.”

However, it wasn’t all good news for the future as Loudon predicted there will be volume figures down by 2020 too.

Future predictions

He added: “Blended whisky volume will fall by 20%, white rum by 4%, vodka 2% and American whiskey 1%.”

Loudon also outlined the spirits category as a whole and highlighted how important it is to the sector.

“Spirits is the fastest growing drinks category in the on-trade and, by 2020, the categories yearly value is forecasted to grow by nearly £800m,” he said:

“However, while current spirits volume is flat, premium spirits volume has grown by 5%. Currently 22% of spirits volume in GB is premium but in the US this is 47% so there is room for further growth.”

Going even further than premium, the super premium category is a huge driver towards growth, according to Loudon.

Super premium

He continued: “Super premium spirits are now contributing more growth than premium spirits but it is driven by gin and vodka.

“Consumers are always looking for new or different drinks when out, the focus should be on driving premium growth in categories that are set to grow significantly over the next three years such as golden rum, Tequila and malt whisky.”

However, informing staff on spirits is the best way to drive sales, Loudon said and ensuring that serve is perfect, is key.

He added: “Education will be key and bartender recommendations are a growing way that consumers discover new drinks. Serve strategy is also important, consumers want to drink good-quality mixers alongside their spirit choice.

“Single serve bottles are important in determining the overall quality of the serve. But, operators should consider whether pre-batched or draught cocktails could be an effective solution for quicker, more efficient service.

“Consumers in pubs expect cocktails to be ready in 1.8 minutes and 31% are likely to buy pre-batched cocktails and 32% are likely to purchase draught cocktails.”

Future Trends: Spirits was made possible thanks to headline partners Diageo and Schweppes; associate partner Pernod Ricard; and event partners Warner Edwards, Slingsby Gin and Willis Publicity​