Spirits and liqueur market in the UK - Statistics & Facts
It's been a tough few years for the spirits industry in the United Kingdom with the market facing several recent headwinds. Brexit initially caused trade disruption, then followed the pandemic with its pub closures and soon after, the war in Ukraine and it's effect on prices. Additionally, the industry has now seen multiple increases in alcohol duty, with the most recent on February 1, 2025. Already on an upward trend, the consumer price index for spirits saw another increase in 2024.
While the crises of recent years are transient, rising prices from duty increases may prove to have a lasting impact on the industry if the discretionary budget of consumers can't keep up.
Production holding steady
About 6.9 million hectoliters of spirits were produced in the UK in 2024. This was a slights decrease compared to the previous year, but inline with the trend since 2016. Exports of spirits and liqueurs (which contain additives such as sugar as sweetener) increased by 10.4 percent to a combined export value of 6.8 billion British pounds while imports were valued at just over one billion British pounds in 2023. The leading country of origin for spirits imported to the United Kingdom is France, with 176 million British pounds worth of imports, while the leading destination for exports of spirits was the United States by a wide margin. The decline of exports in 2023 may be due to consumer concerns about rising prices in the United States and Scotch whiskey commanding a comparatively high price compared to bourbon.Consumer prices on the rise
Spirits consumers are currently weathering a large increase in prices. In 2024, the consumer price index for spirits was up over four percent compared to 2023 and over 12 percent since 2022. When consumers are buying despite the increased prices, they tend to reach for spirits over liqueurs. The liqueur brand most popular among UK consumers was Baileys Irish Cream with 4.3 million consumers.While the crises of recent years are transient, rising prices from duty increases may prove to have a lasting impact on the industry if the discretionary budget of consumers can't keep up.
