Boozy Britons bought over 1billion bottles wine from the Covid pandemic. However, sales of pre-mixed containers jumped by 20 percent, statistics show.
UK drinkers produced more than According to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA’s Market Report), 1billion bottles were sold in supermarkets and stores during 2020. This was a result of hospitality companies taking a dip in sales.
Wine proved to be a massive hit amid the Covid pandemic as supermarkets sold more than 113million bottles of rosé wine, nearly 508million bottles of white wine and almost 434million bottles of red wine, totalling more than 1billion bottles overall.
This equates to a staggering 3,338 hectolitres (hL) of red wine, 873hL of rosé wine and 3,908 hL of white wine, with each type of wine seeing at least a 13 per cent growth on last year’s sales.
Supermarket sales of any type of alcohol increased throughout the pandemic. But, sales on the trade, which is alcohol sold in bars and restaurants, dropped as many venues closed for months.
Off-trade sales of red, rosé and white wine shot up by an average of 13 per cent compared to 2019 as people were urged to ‘stay home’ amid a string of Covid lockdowns, with rosé proving to be the most popular type of wine.
The best selling alcohol in the year leading up to December 26, 2020, was still beer, which saw a 25 per cent increase and sold almost 23million hectolitres, or around four billion pints, according to WSTA’s figures.
Other beverages that jumped off the shelves amid the Covid-19 lockdown were pre-mixed ready to drink (RTD) cans, with sales rising by 20 per cent from 2019, while cider also saw a 18 per cent increase in sales.
Wine proved itself to be a popular stay-at-home beverage, with rosé wine seeing the biggest increase in sales compared with the year before, as sales shot up by 21 per cent with more than 113million bottles sold.
Both red and white wines sold more bottles than white, and Britons bought almost 508million white wine bottles and 434million red wine bottles. However, the sales of both white and red wine only increased 13 percent and 14%, respectively.
In the meantime, Co-op sales of its p were suspended during the initial lockdown that was in force March 2020.remium rosé wine increased by as much as 186 per cent as shoppers were prepared to spend more to ‘Make the most of your at-home drinking opportunities’
According to WSTA’s data, sales of Argentinian wine shot up by a staggering 43 per cent, making it the variety of wine that saw the most improved sales amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to The Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s Market Report, UK consumers bought more than 1 billion bottles of wine in supermarkets and shops between 2020 and 2021 (stock image).
Argentinian wine sales continue to rise strongly, as Britons have bought more than the expected. 50million bottles compared to just over seven million bottles in 2016.
As well as being the most improved, it ranked as the eighth most popular wine, by country of origin, with Australia securing first place, followed closely by Italy and Chile, according to the WSTA report.
The alcoholic beverage is becoming more common at home in recent years, with 91 million bottles sold in 2016.
Meanwhile, shoppers also spent a staggering £412million on RTD beverages, which include cans of gin and tonic and cocktail cans, up 23 per cent from 2019 and almost double five years ago.
Many Brits wanted to recreate their favorite pub drink with cocktails, so Spirits was a very popular choice.
Tequila enjoyed the biggest growth in sales amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with 1million 75cl bottles – worth £28million – being sold across 2020, which was an increase of 63 per cent from 2019.
Flavoured vodka saw the second largest increase in sales among spirits, rising by 55 per cent compared with 2019, with Britons spending £95million on it.
Britons also purchased more Argentinian wine last year (pictured), sales increasing by 41 percent in the 12 months leading to December 26,2020
It almost caught up with sales of non-flavoured vodka, which saw shoppers splash out more than £1billion on.
Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said British drinkers tried out a range of different alcoholic drinks after their favourite pubs closed during the pandemic.
He added: ‘This has clearly benefited Argentinian wine makers who had been steadily gaining more UK customers in recent years but made a massive leap in sales last year.
‘Similarly rosé has been on the up in recent years but was given an extra boost in 2020 during the lockdowns and the warm weather. Interestingly the rosé trend continued during the winter months.
RTDs have also been growing rapidly. Consumer curiosity and convenience led to a significant increase in mixed drink cans, as consumers tried new drinks in smaller packages last year.
Joe Turner from Co-op is the category manager wine. He said that last year’s unfortunate closing of the hospitality sector had an adverse effect on sales at supermarkets as people were trying to replicate their favorites tipples at-home.