Scotland’s off-trade vodka market still dominated by the big two
2015 is shaping up to be a good year for vodka in Scotland after a 2014 which was good overall, with sales up 5%, and for some brands in particular.
Two big names – Smirnoff and Glen’s – fight it out for the top spot in terms of Scottish off-trade vodka sales. Whyte and Mackay-marketed Russian Standard is a distant third, but is showing significant growth.
Catherine Conaghan, head of trade relations, Scotland, at Smirnoff owner Diageo, says Scotland is a “vodka nation”. She reckons the brand’s powerful on-trade performance helps cement its market-leading off-trade position
She said: “Vodka holds a 34% share of all spirits sold in the Scottish on-trade, compared to blended whisky at 13% and Gin at 7%. Smirnoff alone holds a 67% share of the vodka market in Scotland.
“In the lead up to summer, there’s a great opportunity to drive spirit sales even further with the promotion of new summer serves and product innovations.”
Scottish brand Glen’s, said to be especially strong in the convenience channel, was bought last year by the Loch Lomond Group, which said it was “very pleased” with the current performance of the core brand and of its recently introduced premium expression Glen’s Platinum.
Scott Dickson, marketing manager, Loch Lomond Group, said: “Glen’s has always been sold on very keen pricing and we continue to maintain that but at the same time we have introduced consumer activity on the Glen’s brand to help showcase the new packaging and bottle and provide the consumer with an additional reason to purchase and engage with our brand.
“When we researched our new look Glen’s we had overwhelming feedback for a more premium version of Glen’s, hence the introduction of Glen’s Platinum, our premium grain, export strength expression. Look out for upcoming social media activity on Glen’s Platinum and also a heavyweight media campaign in August focusing on one of our core regions, Greater Glasgow.”
