British drinkers in the pink on Valentines Day

The UK has fallen in love with pink drinks, according to the WSTA.

It said the popularity of pink gin is a major contributor to the surging sales of gin, which recorded a 41% jump year on year, with flavoured gin driving over “half of all growth in gin sales in the last recorded 12 months, despite only making up one fifth of total sales. Almost three quarters of the flavoured gin sector’s growth has been driven by pink gin.”
 
Meanwhile 2018 sales of rosé were up on the previous year for the first time in five years. Brits bought over 100 million bottles of rosé in the off trade in the last recorded 12 months, over two million more bottles than in the previous year, with value growth of 5%.
 
And while red wine sells in much larger quantities, volumes decreased slightly, whilst white wine sales stayed stable.

“Pink drinks are increasingly popular thanks to our innovative distillers and wine makers who are responding to consumer demands for quality drinks with a splash of colour,” said Miles Beale, WSTA chief executive.

“We have seen a massive increase in the choices of pink and flavoured gins, there are signs of a renewed fondness in rosé wines and liqueurs like Campari and Aperol mixed with sparkling wine have boosted Brits love of pink cocktails.”

He also said the ‘instagrammable’ nature of pink drinks, and big sales of pink drinks on Valentine’s Day, will deliver “another pink spike. There is no doubt that the pink category has benefited by consumers love for sharing vibrant, colourful drink trends on social media.”

Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi, said “We usually see a rise in rosé sales as the weather gets warmer and we move into Spring, but recently we’ve started to see an increased demand for rosé all year round.”