UK rum sales top £1bn
While it has remained behind and gin, rum’s soaring sales, thanks to new brands and flavours as well as surging interest from younger consumers according to CGA, have taken a greater share of the market than whiskey.
CGA client director Paul Bolton said: “We’ve been predicting growth in the rum category for some time now, but its performance since the end of Covid restrictions has been phenomenal.
“Rum’s versatility in cocktails and the explosion of new flavours have both helped to pull in new drinkers, and the successful positioning of premium brands has encouraged a lot of people to trade up from mainstream options.”
Fast-growing popularity
Figures for the latest quarter showed rum sales rocketed by 51% since the equivalent three-month period in 2019, with CGA’s breakdown of sales showing the fast-growing popularity of flavoured and spiced varieties, which took 60% of the rum market in the same quarter, up by 11 percentage points vs 2019.
While sales of flavoured and spiced serves soared, white and dark rums also saw sales growth, as did golden rum, having kept a steady share.
Premium rums also saw an increase in interest with sales having grown by 85%, accounting for 33% of the market in the last quarter, six percentage points more than 2019.
While standard rums lost some of its share of the market, sales remained healthy, up 39%.
CGA’s research also revealed almost half (48%) of rum drinkers were aged 18 to 34, four percentage points higher than a year ago.
Headroom for growth
Furthermore, a similar number (47%) drank out weekly, with consumers now wanting more rum options on menus than gin choices, showing strong signs rum is replacing gin in many drinkers’ repertoires, according to CGA.
This comes as a report from the Campari Group as earlier this year stated the UK rum market had become the third largest in the world.
Bolton added: “With so many taste profiles and cocktails to explore, and such a young demographic embracing them, there is still a lot of headroom for growth.
“Understanding consumers’ evolving rum preferences and educating them about the category will help suppliers to optimise brand engagement and keep sales on its upward trajectory.”
