Rum sales in the UK are rising and, if current trends continue, the spirit is expected to break the £1 billion sales barrier later this year, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).
In 2016, British consumers bought almost 34 million bottles of rum worth £960 million. That was 5% more (in volume) than what was sold in supermarkets compared to the previous year, and 6% more than in pubs, bars and restaurants.
In the last five years, UK rum sales have increased by 15% in volume and 32% in value, which the WSTA attributes to a growing demand for cocktails and the increasing number of brands on the market.
“Rum is another spirit punching above its weight and benefiting from the craft cocktail craze," said WSTA chief executive Miles Beale. "We are pleased to see a flurry of new British rum brands popping up in recent years."
Rum Boom
Total spirit sales last year amounted to over £10 billion, up 8% compared to the 2015, and were more valuable to the UK Treasury than beer.
Gin sales experienced the fastest growth rate in spirits, but the WSTA says that the recent boom is not only confined to gin. It said that in 2006, there were around 50 rum brands on the UK market, but this has now increased to over 150, showing the growing popularity.
“As we have seen a rapid growth in the number of distilleries in the UK, a new wave of UK spirit makers are turning their hand to rum production," added Beale.
"We are calling on the Government to support our innovative spirit makers by freezing excise duty until Budget 2018 and reviewing its regressive policy of year-on-year inflationary rises in excise duty for the full term of the current Parliament."
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
