Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Kingsland Drinks signs new partnership with The Iconic Estate

Published: 05 October, 2021

Kingsland Drinks has agreed a new partnership with Romanian wine producer – The Iconic Estate – in a move to further broaden its offering.

Dine-in occasions bounce back with a vengeance

Published: 29 September, 2021

Dine-in occasions are on the rise as consumers return in-person to restaurants – a shift in consumption patterns which has resulted in greater buy-in for drinks.

Long Read: Daring to dream of a Golden Era of hospitality

Published: 16 September, 2021

Hugh Jones fell into the drinks industry 14 years ago while trying to become a rock star and never left, learning his trade at Majestic Wine, Pernod Ricard, and Mentzendorff. After a locked-down winter teaching strangers how to make cocktails over Zoom, he is now sales manager at Colwith Farm Distillery.

Kingsland Drinks hires new head of marketing and insights

Published: 08 September, 2021

Industry stalwart Charles Overin has joined the Kingsland Drinks team, recruited to oversee the company's marketing strategy at the head office in Salford.

One week left to enter Harpers Design Awards

Published: 25 August, 2021

The race is on with just one week left to enter Harpers Design Awards 2021.

Long read: When it comes to no and low, one size does not fit all

Published: 19 August, 2021

Richard Horwell, owner of London-based food and drink marketing and branding company, Brand Relations, talks though the nuances between no and low beers, wines and spirits, and sets out the future for each.

Spirits boost drinks sales recovery while wine trails behind

Published: 18 August, 2021

Drinks sales have continued to edge further back towards pre-Covid levels in August, with spirits emerging as the leading category helping to catapult the on-trade towards recovery.

The Drinks Trust and The Burnt Chef Project partner to broaden mental health services

Published: 18 August, 2021

The Drinks Trust and The Burnt Chef Project have joined forces to extend their mental health services, with the Drinks Trust making their helpline available to users of The Burnt Chef Project and vice versa.

Drinks Trust backs PR internship for pandemic-affected workers

Published: 17 August, 2021

The Drinks Community – the professional members platform from The Drinks Trust – has partnered with UK drinks public relations agency Domino Communications to offer an internship for those working in the hospitality and drinks industry, whose livelihoods have been negatively affected by the pandemic.

Soapbox: Zero clarity threatens the future of no and low

Published: 12 August, 2021

In an extended soapbox this month, Vickie Rogerson, MD of specialist food and drink communications agency North PR and former head of food and BWS PR at Asda, makes the case for radically improved no and low alcohol labelling.

‘Freedom day’ provides lift for bars

Published: 27 July, 2021

The long-awaited easing of Covid restrictions on 19 July saw like-for-like drinks sales at a GB level dropping by just 5% on the same day in July 2019, according to CGA’s Drinks Recovery Tracker.

Kingsland moves towards employee ownership

Published: 20 July, 2021

Kingsland Drinks Group including Kingsland Drinks and newly established Ten Locks, has made a move to being partially employee owned.

C&C and Mark Anthony Brands join The Portman Group

Published: 15 July, 2021

The Portman Group, which celebrates its 25 anniversary this year, has welcomed two new members — C&C Group and Mark Anthony Brands International — marking the first new members to join this year.

Mounting food prices hits hospitality, while softs recover

Published: 08 July, 2021

Wholesale food prices heading to the hospitality sector reached their highest ever level in May 2021, while soft drinks saw the complete opposite trend.

Entries now open for Harpers Design Awards 2021

Published: 21 May, 2021

Harpers is delighted to announce that our Design Awards 2021 is now open for entries from all areas of the drinks industry.

Numbers 2020: A black swan year

Published: 18 May, 2021

Fresh insights from Euromonitor’s annual data release shows that 2020 was a year of “unprecedented collapse” for BWS globally without the counterbalancing regional effect that buoyed markets during the 2008/9 financial crash. Jo Gilbert looks at the year’s volume figures to break down how global sectors were impacted.

Into the unknown with Ross Carter, The Drinks Trust

Published: 10 May, 2021

Lisa Riley meets with Ross Carter, whose short tenure as CEO of The Drinks Trust so far has taken him through a turbulent and unprecedented time.

Hometipple launch promises fair deal for all

Published: 06 May, 2021

A new online marketplace for drinks has been launched with the promise of a “fair deal” for every producer on the list.

Paragon projects three-fold revenue increase following ‘substantial investment’

Published: 21 April, 2021

Paragon Brands has upped its projections for revenue and profit to “a target of £15m” within three years following a major investment by Maison Villevert.

Drinks Wholesaler Spotlight 2021 – our business survey

Published: 19 April, 2021

Given the immense disruption of the past year, we’re morphing our annual Top Wholesaler list into a 2021 showcase for the innovation, adaptation and support seen from companies across this all important sector.