Consumer choice in the Whisky market

Too much choice for whisky buyers ?

Prestige Whisky are of course going to stock a wide range of exquisite malt whiskies – are we helping or hindering the UK whisky consumer ?

Whisky producers are being urged to improve their UK marketing and encourage more drinkers to trade up to single malts in the wake of figures showing domestic sales lagging behind exports.

Exports of bottled single malt whisky grew a record 9% to £497m over 2008, and blended sales increased 9% to £2.43bn, Scotch Whisky Association figures revealed this week. But blended whisky sales in the UK rose 4% to £774m and malt sales were up 3% to £134m.

Campbell Evans, director of government and consumer affairs at the Scotch Whisky Association, blamed the weaker growth on a market "congested due to the sheer number of choices" for consumers.

"Even though the UK is the third-largest consumer of Scotch whisky in the world, more than 90% of our business remains overseas and encouraging British consumers to trade up to higher-value bottled malt whisky rather than blended remains challenging."

To stand out and keep UK sales buoyant through the recession, companies must concentrate on raising awareness of their brands to encourage consumer loyalty, said Rob Bruce, Whyte & Mackay's communications head.

"The UK Scotch whisky market is going through a tough time. The key to survival in this climate is remaining relevant to consumers to ensure you are their brand of choice," he said.

"But we feel confident that, in these difficult times, consumers here still want to treat themselves to a good whisky, particularly one from a brand they know and trust."

Perhaps the key is for retailers like Prestige whisky to lend the consumer an informed and expert hand. Our job I think is to tell our customers :

What are the key differences between a blended whisky and malt ?

What is the value in trading up or indeed down ?

Indeed the core mission of Prestige Whisky is to help our customer make these kinds of choices and feel confident that their whisky is the right one for them at the right price. In many ways the figures quoted above belay the fact that perhaps it is the whisky industry itself which is preventing customers from understanding their drinks by failing to offer enough relevant information on the choices available.

Article factual information courtesy of the grocer magazine, opening and closing comment by Prestige Whisky June ‘09