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Long Read: Obsessed with grapes – why wine needs to expand its brand horizons

Published:  26 August, 2021

Neil Bennett is head of strategy at creative agency LOVE, which has recently worked with brands including Laithwaites, Penfolds and Brewdog Distilling.

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Soapbox: Zero clarity threatens the future of no and low

Published:  12 August, 2021

In an extended soapbox this month, Vickie Rogerson, MD of specialist food and drink communications agency North PR and former head of food and BWS PR at Asda, makes the case for radically improved no and low alcohol labelling.

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Sipsmith launches non-alcoholic FreeGlider

Published:  03 August, 2021

Market leading gin producer Sipsmith is the latest distillery to enter the no and low category with the launch of Free Glider, its alcohol-free spirit.

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Gin: Identity politics

Published:  06 May, 2021

A roster of ‘gin’ liqueurs, low-quality variants and no and low copycats have drawn the ire of some this year with calls to better ring fence the category. Are these outliers artificially accelerating gin fatigue or is this all part of the category’s natural evolution? Jo Gilbert weighs in.

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Spirits overtake wine in shopping baskets

Published:  01 April, 2021

Spirits reached a major milestone in 2020, overtaking wine to become the largest category in terms of penetration in the off-trade for the first time in at least five years.

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Low and no: How far will it go?

Published:  01 April, 2021

Consumer demand for no and low alcohol products and ready-to-drink is on the rise both globally and in the UK. But how long will this growth continue? Jo Gilbert looks ahead.

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Low and no sales on the rise

Published:  07 September, 2020

Sales of low- and no-alcohol drinks are up 30% year-on-year in the off-trade, with consumer spend on alcohol-free spirits hitting £5.4m, according to data from Nielsen.

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Covid-19 takes the fizz out of the UK sparkling market

Published:  12 August, 2020

The loss of celebratory drinking occasions has put the breaks on an already slowing thirst for sparkling wine in the UK, new research has revealed.

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Prosecco in the pink with parallel rosé trends

Published:  17 July, 2020

A sizeable uplift in rosé wine sales is forecasting a rosey outlook for ‘Pink Prosecco’ which is due to land on British shelves and in ice buckets as of January 2021.

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Pernod Ricard takes mezcal super premium

Published:  17 July, 2020

French giant Pernod Ricard has grown its stake in the “fast-growing” mezcal segment via Ojo de Tigre, a small-batch spirit made from sustainable agave.

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Shakedown looms for English and Welsh spirits

Published:  06 July, 2020

A restructure could be on the cards for the English and Welsh spirits sector, as pressure from an impending recession begins to squeeze brands at either end of the price spectrum. Jo Gilbert reports

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Alcohol to not rebound globally until 2024

Published:  26 May, 2020

It will take five years for the global alcohol category to get back to pre-Covid health, the IWSR has predicted, with double digit declines expected to the hit the category this year.

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US number one hard seltzer brand sets it sights on UK domination

Published:  15 May, 2020

White Claw, the brand which has ignited a seltzer storm in the US, is now looking to replicate its success across the pond.

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Champagne Top 100 launched in London

Published:  03 March, 2020

London fine-wine club 67 Pall Mall is partnering with wine-event and education provider Scala Wine to launch The Champagne Top 100.

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Smartphones boost consumer interest in wine while ‘knowledge’ slides

Published:  20 January, 2020

The world’s wine drinkers are quickly becoming a population of confident connoisseurs thanks to widespread access to the internet and the ubiquity of smartphones. But are they any more knowledgeable offline?

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Low and no on-trade sales soar by nearly 50%

Published:  02 December, 2019

Sales of no- and low-alcohol drinks in the on-trade have risen nearly 50% in the last year, according to a new report from food-and-drink sector analysts CGA.

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Gin: Ascending the throne

Published:  14 November, 2019

It’s been on the cards for some time. Back in 2014, there were rumblings that gin was poised to overtake vodka as the UK’s spirit of choice in time for the new decade.

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Gin months away from eclipsing vodka as the UK’s biggest spirits category

Published:  30 October, 2019

After years of forecasting and speculation, gin is poised to finally push ahead of vodka as the UK’s biggest spirits category in 2020, with flavoured variants pushing the category to ever greater heights. 

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Entry-level malts lead whisky category to new heights

Published:  23 October, 2019

A raft of innovation has boosted the fortunes and the accessibility of whisk(e)y in the UK, a new report has revealed.

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Prestige Champagne fizzes as sub-£20 falls

Published:  29 August, 2019

Research has shown that Champagne is experiencing continued uplift at the premium end of the spectrum, with brands leading the category to a higher average price per bottle.

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