Smirnoff tops vodka category

 Smirnoff Blue, Absolut Blue and Ketel One remain the top three products in the list, with Absolut Vanilla and Grey Goose switching respectively into fourth and fifth place.

It’s been a positive year across the board, with all drinks seeing large increases in volume and value sales. Absolut Blue saw the biggest increases, with a 199% hike in volume sales from 44,293 per nine-litre-case (9lc) to 132,430 9lcs. Its change in value was even greater – it rose from £56.4m to £176.4m.

Soaring value

Ketel One also saw huge increases, which more than doubled in volume sales from 27,512 9lc last year to 74,972 9lc this year – a rise of 172.5%. Its value also significantly increased by 183.8% from £38.4 to £108.9.

It was also a solid year for Absolut Vanilla, which was a newcomer last year, which climbed from fifth to fourth place, with a 150.8% hike in value from £26.4m to £66.2m. Its volume sales also soared 133.7% from 22,827 9lc last year to 53,351 9lc this year.

Smirnoff Red has also had a strong 12 months, remaining firm in the no.1 spot, with a rise in volume sales of 150.2$ from 527,555 9lc to 1,320,014 and a 157.1% hike in value from £552.8 to £1,421.5. This puts the product miles ahead of its competitors, showing there’s little competition for top spot.

Drinks sales

This comes after vodka sales soared in the three months to January 2022, taking over sales of gin, data from CGA revealed.​ Despite this, total sales were still down when compared with 2019 – the last comparable trading period pre-pandemic.

Grey Goose was the only one in the list to drop places from fourth to fifth, with the smallest increases in volume and value. Nonetheless, the product still rose by 99.1% from 23,855 9lc to 47,501 9lc in volume sales, and by £36.6m to £75.7m in value (106.7%).