On-trade whisky sales boom in the UK

While the UK’s total on-premise whisky sales for 2023 were 2% below those of the previous year, it was a different story north of Hadrian’s Wall. According to CGA by NIQ, 2023’s on-trade whisky sales clocked in just shy of £1 billion, at £959 million. In general in the UK, on-trade spirits sales have been going through a slump recently – as CGA by NIQ’s Christmas results revealed. The exception is Scotland, where the value of whisky sales grew by 18.2% year-on-year, meaning that Scotland now accounts for 15.4% of all whisky sales by value (its population accounts for about 12% of the UK total). Malt whisky in particular has proven to be something of a success-story in Scotland, with the value rate of sale increasing by an astounding 35.9% from 2022 to 2023. CGA by NIQ’s senior client manager Matt Meeks argued that while it is only one night a year, the whisky-soaked celebration of Scotland’s most famous poet does play a role in getting consumers to engage with the category: “Burns ...