LongshotInsights: Craft Spirits 2025 Trends Paper

This is my 2025 Craft Spirits Trends Paper setting out my annual take on the upcoming trends that are likely to impact the UK Craft Spirits Market in the coming year and perhaps beyond. I have pulled together all the conversations and insights I gained over the last 12 months to give a view that is part state of play part forecast. It also suggests ways forward/ implications for brands.

2024 was again a difficult year for the UK craft spirits market; continuing a trend that has seen the UK craft spirits hit by a series of shocks / difficult trading over the past years from covid, high inflation, Ukraine war, duty rise, to the change in government and the worst budget for business and in particular hospitality in recent years. Costs have remained high or even permanently increased and most brands haven’t been able to fully compensate (via price increases) for increasing costs. There have been a number of distillery closures/ forced brand sales and in the wider sector, brewery closures. The independent pub sector continued to experience extreme pressure and experienced continued closures; this has accelerated from 2023 with 412 pubs closing in 2024.

This paper seeks to set out some macro spirits trends likely to impact the UK Craft Spirits Market in 2025 at a category level and was first published in January 2025.

This year I have focussed on FIVE broad Key UK Craft Spirit Trends for 2025 and beyond and TWO underlying trends:

1. UK Craft distilleries will continue to struggle under the weight of the increased duty on spirit, increased regulatory costs particularly connected to staffing and struggling on and off-trade.
2. Long term global spirits market will continue to grow but short term UK spirits market will struggle exacerbated by the continued decline of craft gin.
3. New Whisky and English Whisky will continue to rise.
4. Flavoured Spirits , Cocktails and Liqueurs drive younger consumption and dominate growth over almost all categories.
5. Growth of “mindful drinking” and “zebra striping” as non-alcoholic drinks increasingly move mainstream.

UNDERLYING THE ABOVE TRENDS AND IN PARALLEL:

1. Pressure rises to move forward towards sustainable operations / carbon reduction.
2. AI, systems and automation investment / use grows in small and medium distilleries.

I enjoyed pulling it together and I hope you find it interesting possibly even useful .

THE PAPER IS !% PAGES LONG