The Drinks List – Top Brands to Stock in 2021

According to The Morning Advertiser's ​annual Drinks List: Top Brands to Stock 2021, while drinks sales were inevitably down, when the trade was open the stats show 2020 was on course to be a year like any other. 

That's right, figures provided by data experts CGA show that sales during the months pubs traded were close to previous years, indicating punters remained thirsty and loyal to their pubs.

Unlike previous editions where each brand's volume sales performance is measured against the previous year, the 2021 Drinks List shows where brands have risen, fallen or stayed in the same position when compared with 2020's list.

But to put things into perspective, the on-trade's best selling brands have lost between 30% and 40% of volume sales, with the same being said for value sales too. However, this is sometimes higher, especially in categories more severely affected by coronavirus restrictions, such as those mostly stocked in nightclubs, which have been prevented from trading in any form resembling normality.

As the lockdown hit during one of the hottest summers on record, categories such as cider and tonics have been hit particularly hard.

But it's not all doom and gloom, few brands posted volume and value losses of 50% or above, while there are also some good growth stories, particularly in gin.

There's also a healthy number of new entries on the list this year, joining the ranks and shaking up the order a little, while competition between brands remains strong as they continue to jostle for the top spot.

Read our category analysis pieces below to find out which brands topped the bar.

• All data provided by CGA for the 12 months to 3 October 2020​​

Lager

Last year, the top 12 lager brands on the Drinks List pumped out 10,144,183 2020 hectolitres (HL) in volume sales combined.

For the same period this year the category achieved just over half of that at 6,358,309 HL. Though it is still a considerable sales drop – the biggest the category has ever experienced – analysis shows there are positives in the stats. 

In fact, none of the mainstream lager brands on this year's Drinks List saw volume and value sales decline by more than 45%. The lowest volume loss was Birra Moretti at 22.5% down on last year.

Considering the segment missed out on peak summer trading and operators had to deal with the 'rule of six', social distancing and a myriad of red tape, lager's performance would have been in line with previous years.

The 2021 ranking also shows some movement as the big lager brands continued to jostle for consumer spend.

As always Carling, Fosters and Carlsberg remain in the top three positions and in that order.

Carling has been the biggest selling lager brand in the UK on-trade for some years now and its volume and value sales will take some beating.

Although the second biggest brand Fosters is in a favourable position, with values just a third behind its rival's.

Coors Light and Stella Artois each climbed one place, while Peroni Nastro Azzurro dropped two.

Amstel and San Miguel also rose a place each, while Tenants dropped two.

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[1]​ ^{CGA Strategy MAT P2 2020}​

[2]​ ^{CGA Strategy, w/e 11.07.2020}​

[3]​ ^{CGA Strategy to 05.09.2020}​

This year's stats also indicate one mainstream lager brand saw both volume and value growth when compared to the previous year.

Appearing to buck the trend is Carlsberg Danish Pilsner, which saw volume sales rise by 4.7% and values up the same percentage.

However, the increase does come down to the beer's recent rebrand from Carlsberg to Carlsberg Danish Pilsner, and when the lager's total sales are combined it looks a little different.

Carlsberg's total sales, combining the original brand and rebranded, are 575,292 HL this year and 969,036 for last year, equating to an overall volume drop of 40.6% which is inline with the other top 12 lager brands.

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No-and-low alcohol beer

For the first time Becks Blue has been knocked off the top spot in the low and no alcohol beer category.

Since its launch some years ago it has been a tough brand to for others to unbalance, but this year Heineken's relatively new Heineken 0.0 has bumped Blue into second place.

What is interesting is 0.0's volume sales are only slightly lower than last year's, coming it at 17,244 HL this year compared to 18,190 HL for 2019. This indicates the brand was likely to set a record on the list and break Blue's 20,301HL performance last year.

This year Blue saw its volume sales slump dramatically from 20,301 HL last year to 9,757.

Peroni Libera, a new entry, on the other hand, was the only brand in this segment to show growth. However, the beer did launch last summer, so perhaps it's not entirely fair to give it the status of category grower.

But grow it did from 2,004 HL last year to 3,483 HL, which equates to near 74%. 

This year volume sales for the whole category stood at 33,882 HL with a combined value of £29m. This is compared with 46,311 HL and £40.8m for the previous year.

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Cask

Cask ale's fortunes have been precariously balanced for some years now, with the majority of the top 10 brands on the Drinks List showing volume declines.

Sales this year are in line with other categories and haven't shown volume drops in excess of 50%.

The list is also relatively unchanged, with the top eight brands maintaining their positions year-on-year.

Ruddles Best was the only cask ale brand to rise one place this year from tenth to eighth and the relaunched Bass on draught joins the list at number 10 for the first time.

Missing from this year's list is Caledonian Deuchars IPA, which in last year's list had dropped by 40% in volume sales and 39.9% in value sales.

Last year's combined volume sales for cask totaled 604,596 HL equating to a value of £479.6m.

This year volumes declined to 470,664 HL with a value of £285.1m.

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Craft beer

There has been a significant amount of shifting in the craft beer ranks this year, with BrewDog Punk IPA losing its top spot for the first time since the list began.

Camden Hells Lager is now, in both volume and value terms, the UK on-trade's best selling craft beer. This follows significant investment from owners Budweiser Brewing Group in the beer's brewing and distribution.

However, it is a close competition, with Camden selling 42,426 HL and BrewDog in at 41,784 HL. When it comes to values, Camden wins by a fair amount with £40m in sales versus BrewDog's £36.1m.

Camden's Pale Ale is also comes in at a strong third, whereas BrewDog only features one brand on the Drinks List's Craft Beer segment.

Beavertown Neck Oil is this year's highest climber and saw the segment's lowest drop in volume sales at -9%.

Rising four places on this year's list, Beavertown lost just over 1,000 HL in volume sales when compared with last year's Drinks List – 23,546 HL in 2019 versus 22,065 HL this year.

We also have two new entries this year with Goose Island Midway IPA and Maltsmiths American Style IPA, while Greene King's East Coast IPA is the biggest loser dropping three positions.

What we can see from the Drinks List's Craft Beer results is that beers supported, owned or launched by larger breweries are able to make bigger gains.

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Cider

Cider experienced the biggest overall percentage drop in volume and value sales of any segment on this year's Drinks List, due to pubs being closed during one of the hottest summers on record.

Few of the brands on this year's list saw volume declines off less than 40%, with the lowest dip at 35.1% and the largest standing at 51.7%.

The top 10 brands in the list have also seen a little jostling around, apart from the top three – Strongbow, Strongbow Dark Fruit and Thatchers Gold remaining in first, second and third positions respectively.

The highest climber was Magners Original, jumping up five places to fourth.

We also have one new entry in the top Cider brands this year with Thatchers Haze, which bumped Somersby Cider cider off the list, also coming in tenth last year.

Combined volumes for the top 10 cider brands dropped by around half when compared with last year, from just over 2m HL in 2019 to 1.1m HL this year.

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Spirits

Smirnoff Red remains the largest player in the spirits category in both value and volume terms and while its volume sales have dropped below on-million nine-litre cases this year, it still sells significantly more than its next competitor Gordon's Pink Gin.

Last year the top 10 brands in the spirits category sold 3.5m nine-litre cases in the on-trade. However, due to lockdown and other strict restriction on the on-trade that dropped to just over 2m. 

The growth of rum can finally be seen in this year's Drinks List as Captain Morgan's Spice rises two spots into third, seeing Gordon's drop by one into fourth position.

Interestingly Baileys also stepped up by two spots to eight place.

The only brands to maintain last year's positions are Smirnoff Red (1), Gordon's Pink Gin (2), Jack Daniels (6) and Famous Grouse (7).

Every other brand in the category has either risen or fallen, yet none have dropped from the top 10 spirits brands list this year, meaning there are no newcomers.

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Vodka

This year's top five vodka brands have remained on the list with only two movers – Ketel One up one place to third and Russian Standard down one spot to fourth.

Absolut Blue maintains its spot as the UK on-trade's second best selling vodka brand, pipped by only Smirnoff Red.

Things get interesting in the vodka category when the volume and value sales of Russian Standard and Grey Goose are pitted against one another.

Russian Standard sold nearly 10,000 more nine-litre cases than Grey Goose. However, Grey Goose's value sales add up to more at £45.7m versus £44.4m.

This story is repeated across spirits, softs and wine throughout the list this year, showing that, under the right circumstances, you can sell less but drive more revenue. However, whether or not that converts into more profit isn't shown.

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Gin

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Beefeater is the world’s most awarded gin brand, distilled in the heart of London and in 2020, is celebrating 200 years of heritage. The brand’s first home, Chelsea Distillery, was built in 1820 and subsequently purchased by Beefeater’s founder, James Burrough, in 1863. It was at this site James Burrough went on to make his first London style dry gin that would become known as Beefeater worldwide.

The iconic Beefeater recipe has remained virtually unchanged and today it is guarded by Beefeater’s Master Distiller, Desmond Payne, the most experienced gin distiller in the world. Beefeater is one of the Top 15 fastest growing brands in Premium+ Spirits globally with over 70 markets growing double and triple digit in 2019[1]​. Beloved by international bartenders for its consistently outstanding quality and classic London dry taste, the Beefeater range consists of Beefeater Dry, the world’s No.1 premium gin thanks to its crisp, clean, well-balanced flavour; Beefeater 24, a super-premium gin infused with Japanese and Chinese teas to create a distinctive, complex gin to suit contemporary cocktail culture; and the brand’s new flavours range.

Experimentation and innovation have been at the heart of the Beefeater brand since the days of its founder, James Burrough. Today, this focus continues as Desmond breaks new ground with gins such as Beefeater Pink Strawberry and Beefeater Blood Orange, the number three contributing piece of NPD in the On-Trade[2]​. More recently, Beefeater became the second biggest gin brand in both volume and value in the eight weeks following the reopening of the on-trade after the first national lockdown this year[3]​. 

Website: https://www.beefeatergin.com/en-UK​

[1]​ IWSR 2019

[2]​ CGA MAT to 26.06.20

[3]​ CGA Total On-Trade Value Sales 6 Weeks to 05.09.20

This year's top 10 gin brands for the on-trade makes interesting reading, with the first five on the list appearing in the same order as last year, while the second half is comprised entirely of new entries.

We also continue to see the prevalence of pink gin, with Gordon's version maintaining its spot in second position this year, having forced its sister tipple into second place last year.

It is also generating significantly more value per nine-litre case sold than standard Gordon's, showing a little fruit and colour can indeed go a long way.

This year Beefeater is joined on the list by its two siblings for the first time – Beefeater Blood Orange and Beefeater Pink. While the latter comes in tenth place, the former has positioned itself in a strong seventh.

Beefeater Blood Orange is also the only brand in the gin category to showcase volume and value growth – mostly thanks to its new entry – and boasts an 86.3% uplift in volume sales compared to last year and an 84% uptick in value sales.

Another interesting observation to be made about this year's gin list is the fact half of the brands are fruit or flavoured gins, with the other half standard.

Within that, four of the new entries are flavoured, with Hendricks the only non-fruit newcomer.

A sign of how consumers are drinking in the wider gin category, and significantly different to the other spirits categories, such as vodka, where standard variants are most popular.

Whitley Neill Rhubarb & Ginger joined the list for the first time this year selling 13,775 9LCs with an impressive value of £16.5m.

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The UK’s number one premium gin brand, Whitley Neill, has led the way in flavour innovation since its launch in 2005, with its portfolio now boasting 12 fruity flavours. This includes its best-selling Rhubarb & Ginger, Blood Orange and Raspberry gins, all of which have been inspired by unique flavours from all over the world.

As the popularity of flavoured gin continues to soar, Whitley Neill provides licensees with a premium, quality range to tap into this opportunity. For a really simple yet high impact serve, any flavour from the range can be mixed with fizz and a simple fruit garnish – perfect in the run up to Christmas as consumers look to trade up their drinks choices.

Whitley Neill Raspberry Ginsecco​

Ingredients:​

• 20ml Whitley Neill Raspberry Gin
• 10ml Lemon Juice
• Prosecco top-up

Method​: Simply pour into a champagne flute, and garnish with two fresh raspberries.

Find out more: https://www.whitleyneill.com/en_GB/​​

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Rum

Little has changed in this years top 10 rum rankings, with the top five brands remaining in last year's spots, meaning there are only two moves and one new entry.

Rum shows one of the highest volume to value conversions on this year's Drinks List. Compared with the other spirits categories featured this year, it has the lowest volume sales overall, yet its total values are not far behind the third best selling on-trade spirits category 'whiskies'.

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Whiskies

The whisky category on this year's Drinks List is identical to last year in terms of rankings, with Jack Daniels maintaining its position at the top in both volume and value terms.

Volume and value sales are in line with each other for the majority of the list, i.e. those selling more volume have values that represent those sales.

However, this shifts at number six with Whyte & Mackay, which sold 13,571 9LCs for the period measured, but has a value lower than the next three brands.

Jack Daniels Honey, Johnnie Walker Red and Makers Mark Kentucky Bourbon each sold fewer nine-litre cases than Whyte & Mackay, but posted higher value sales.

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Soft drinks

This year the soft drinks category has seen a little movement lower down the pecking order in terms of volume sales, but the top four entries are in line with last year.

Interestingly Pepsi moved up one spot in volume sales, though only marginally. However, the brand it overtook, Schweppes Lemonade, still outperformed in value sales at £132.3m for Pepsi versus £150.7 for Schweppes.

Red Bull and J20 Orange & Passionfruit switched places this year. Although both sold similar volumes, Red Bull's value sales are considerably higher at £73.1m versus J20 Orange & Passionfruit's £58.4m.

The list hasn't welcomed a new soft drinks brand to its ranking since its creation several years ago, showing the market is still dominated by the heavyweights.

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Tonics

The tonic water market is still dominated by Fever-Tree, with its standard variation continuing to top the list.

However, last year Fever-Tree performed considerably better compared with the next highest-seller Schweppes – 138,771 HL versus 89,799 HL for Schweppes.

Both have lost the same percentage in volume sales this year at just over 48% each, but Fever-Tree's value sales fell a little harder than Schweppes' at 48.2% versus 47.5%.

What is apparent is how large the volume drops across the tonics are on the list this year, showing their reliance on hot summer trading.

The lowest volume drop was 44% and the highest 48.7%. Combined, volumes dropped from 409,992 HL last year to 216,253 HL this year.

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Wine

Pinot Grigio remains the UK on-trade's best-selling variant, with the top two brands showcasing the grape.

Red, Merlot to be precise, is the fourth best selling variant. However, in total there are only two red variants on the list this year – both Merlot – showing on-trade drinkers' preference for white and sparkling white variants.

If we were basing the list on values, Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial, which was the third best-selling volume brand, would wine by a mile. This was the case last year too.

Last year the brand's value was £79.5m and this year it stands at £46m – more than double its nearest competitor.

And the list finally features Prosecco with Vinuva Prosecco as a new entry this year selling 43,328 9LCs and coming in at number eight.

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Ready-to-Drink

Ready-to-Drink has been hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown and resulting restrictions across the on-trade, particularly with nightclubs unable to reopen and trade as normal.

Volume losses for the category this year are mostly near the 50% mark, with all but two brands posting volume losses in the mid-to-late 40%s.

However, there is a new entry on this list this year in the form of VK Ice Storm, coming it at number nine and knocking Pimms No1 off the list – most likely caused by the lack of summer trade in pubs this year.

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• All data provided by CGA for the 12 months to 3 October 2020​​