Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Waitrose appoints new wine trading manager

Published: 07 October, 2024

Nicola Jones will join Waitrose as its new wine trading manager on 13 October, bringing 13 years of experience from within the company.

Top 50 Drinks Wholesalers 2024: The full rundown

Published: 04 October, 2024

Harpers’ round up of the leading UK wine, beer and spirits suppliers has landed once again, featuring the best in the business. Drawn from a dynamic and ever-evolving sector, these are the companies that our judges deemed to have gone the extra mile in terms of quality of service and portfolio, plus much else besides. And their inclusion in this list is a celebration of that professionalism and attention to detail.

Top 50 Drinks Wholesalers 2024 ranking: 10-1 revealed

Published: 04 October, 2024

Welcome to the final reveal of our Top 50 Drinks Wholesalers 2024, featuring the Top 10 businesses in the UK.

Jerry Lockspeiser: What are we in business for?

Published: 03 October, 2024

Two contrasting news stories caught my attention last month. The first featured the largest ever gathering of the B Corp movement. Held in Oxford the B Corp Festival brought together people from a growing community of over 2000 UK companies who have embraced its key objective – that business should be a force for good. B stands for Benefit. The slogan is People, Planet, Profit. The ethos is that all stakeholders – internal and external – should benefit from what a business does and how it does it.

Top 50 Drinks Wholesalers 2024 ranking: 20-11 revealed

Published: 03 October, 2024

This week marks the unveiling of our Top 50 Drinks Wholesalers 2024 results, singling out and celebrating the best in the business when it comes to supplying wines, spirits and beers.

Berry Bros. & Rudd enters fine wine auctions market

Published: 01 October, 2024

Berry Bros. & Rudd, the UK’s oldest fine wine and spirits merchant, has announced its entry into the fine wine auction market with the launch of Berry Bros. & Rudd Auctions.

Celeb backed brands aren’t failsafe for success

Published: 06 September, 2024

New data has revealed the precarious business of investing in celebrity backed brands; for while they tend to outperform their total category, celebrity involvement doesn’t always guarantee success.

Holyrood celebrates international success via Dutch partnership

Published: 02 September, 2024

Edinburgh-based Holyrood Distillery has reported strong export growth as mid-year sales already exceed that of 2023 by 15% thanks to an exclusive partnership with Dutch importer and distributor High Spirits.

Pernod Ricard forecasts return to growth in 2025 following wine sale

Published: 29 August, 2024

Spirits giant Pernod Ricard has forecasted that its sales will grow again next year after suffering a post-pandemic slump.

Nick Gillett: Why vodka needs to break out of its boring ‘steady Eddie’ box

Published: 19 August, 2024

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘vodka’. Not much, right? Where the word ‘whisky’ evokes images of sipping from a glass next to a roaring fire and ‘rum’ transports you to tropical climates grasping a glass filled with amber liquid on ice – vodka just doesn’t deliver the same dreamy (if clichéd) scenarios. But vodka is estimated to have a global value of $40.25 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 5.6% each year until then (IWSR Vodka Innovation Trends report). So, the category has to be doing something right, surely?

Joshua Castle: ‘Looking Back, Forging Ahead’

Published: 12 August, 2024

We continue our series with Joshua Castle, group head buyer, Keeling Andrew, Noble Rot and Shrine to the Vine.

Nick Gillett: Flavoured spirits – top tipples or faddy favourites?

Published: 15 July, 2024

Flavour. When it comes to food and drink – it’s the most important thing. As a producer, you can be entirely carbon neutral, use the finest ingredients, have the sharpest packaging – but if your liquid isn’t up to scratch, you won’t last long. But beyond that, producers are now using flavours to expand their ranges, tap into new markets, and attract new demographics of drinkers to their brands. As a man who has sampled thousands of liquids and has reasonably good taste (although I’m sure my colleagues might not agree, especially when it comes to taste in music or fashion!) here’s my reckonings about flavour trends in the spirits industry.

‘Moderate recovery’ predicted for global alcohol market in 2025

Published: 06 June, 2024

Following a decline in global beverage alcohol sales in 2023 and tough trading conditions so far in 2024, IWSR has predicted a gradual recovery from 2025.

Bacardi announces new leadership in the UK & Ireland

Published: 30 April, 2024

Bacardi has announced two new major appointments, with Steve Young taking on the newly created role of business unit director for the UK & Ireland, while Amanda Almond becomes MD of northern Europe.

Five minutes with Andrew Maidment, Zacal

Published: 30 April, 2024

Andrew Catchpole catches up with an ex-Wines of Argentina marketing director now launching his own mezcal to the UK, Zacal.

Nick Gillett: Staffing issues yet another blow under a government failing hospitality

Published: 08 April, 2024

The UK government recently announced that it would create 20,000 new apprenticeships by reforming the complex, paperwork-fuelled, resource-thirsty apprenticeship levy system for SMEs. A move that should benefit hospitality businesses up and down the country by bringing in new blood at the beginning of their careers. Phrases like ‘cut red tape’ and ‘regulatory burdens slashed’ appear throughout the government’s official, grand announcement – but forgive me if I retain my cynicism for now. This is coming from a government that has done nothing but increase the burden on business. And I’ll come back to that shortly.

How will tequila’s price spiral impact the UK?

Published: 05 April, 2024

Prices for agave are currently in a tailspin as sales of premium products slow in key markets like the US and years of zealous plantings finally catch up – and outstrip – demand.

Inside Berry Bros. & Rudd's new Spirits Shop

Published: 28 March, 2024

After over one hundred years of being a wine-front merchant, a spirits fascia bearing the name Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR) is days away from opening to the public on the hallowed pavements of St James’.

Julian Momen on ‘re-focusing’ Enotria

Published: 28 February, 2024

Enotria & Coe’s new CEO has spent the months since his inauguration working on honing a back-to-basics approach while refocusing parts of the business which “felt a bit unstructured”.

Pernod Ricard defends organic decline as spirits sales normalise

Published: 15 February, 2024

Pernod Ricard has announced what it is calling a robust performance in the first half of the 2024 financial year despite declines in its organic sales – a performance which the company is putting down to the normalisation of the spirits market following two years of outstanding growth.