Welcome to the unveiling of our Sustainability Charter, which forms the central pillar of an exciting new Harpers campaign. With sustainability rising back to the top of the world’s collective agenda, this initiative is designed to further galvanise the drinks trade and assist it in moving towards ever more pressing sustainable goals.
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Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR) has unveiled its fourth quarter financial data for 2021, showing a notable surge in online sales and a burgeoning consumer demand for sparkling wine brands.
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Rudi Plath, the founder of Morgenrot and well-known character in the wine and beer trade, passed away on 17 December.
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Continuing our seasonal Bouncing Back Q&A series, David Gates, CEO, Laithwaites takes stock of the challenges and lessons of 2021 and considers the path ahead for the trade.
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Wine and spirits are, at their heart, agricultural products, albeit given the somewhat magical twist of fermentation or distillation. Which means that any adverse affect from climate change can and will filter through to the final product, literally under the consumer’s nose, rather than just remaining a more peripheral concern in the wider world. Producers of wine especially are increasingly aware of what was described as an “existential threat” to their livelihoods, as outlined at a recent International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) seminar in London.
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In his opening address at the WSTA Industry Summit 2021, CEO Miles Beale took an imaginary look back at the past decade from 2031 to highlight the lobbying and initiatives that the industry body has planned or instigated.
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Pernod Ricard and Diageo have backed a new not-for-profit innovation accelerator founded to drive growth of black-owned brands within FMCG.
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The UK drinks trade will have little to toast this Christmas trading period if restrictions on socialising become more onerous, with a fall in off-trade sales compounded by a further dramatic down-turn in the on-trade.
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UK consumer confidence to eat out continues to rise, with 10 million more people visiting bars and restaurants in August over June, with an additional 2.4 million also likely to venture out for the first time during the next fortnight.
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Shaking aside the current gloom and doom, drinks pundit Chris Losh has launched a new website, Fake Booze, which takes a sideways look at the trade and all its shenanigans.
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The Covid-19 crisis has stripped bare the precarious economic situation of the on-trade and its supply-side, with a correction in the market necessary to improve profitability.
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Two webinars, ‘Harnessing the Crisis for Change’ and ‘NPD: Innovation in the time of Covid-19’, are being hosted by Harpers over the next few days, delivering insights into how the pandemic will play out as a catalyst for evolution within the trade.
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Jo Eames, creative director and drinks buyer at Peach Pubs, gives the lowdown on the staggered reopening of venues across England’s market towns and how it’s all rolling out post 4 July.
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The quarterly rent due 24 June, just a day after PM Boris Johnson relaxed the 2 metre rule while confirming 4 July reopening for hospitality, comes as a sobering reminder that the on-trade’s woes are far from over.
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The Drinks Trust has awarded almost a third more in emergency grants during the first five months of 2020 compared with the whole of 2019, highlighting the impact of lockdown on the UK drinks trade.
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Asking for rational trade-offs, Vagabond’s Stephen Finch voices the on-trade’s concern over the economic impact of shut-down and the 2 metre distancing rule.
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Back in proactive lobbying mode, the WSTA outlined its key priorities and government asks on Wednesday as the UK hurtles towards the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020.
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Ian Peart (above) has been appointed commercial director at Pernod Ricard UK (PRUK), taking over the role from Chris Ellis, who is leaving the business after 16 years.
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The Wine & Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) on Friday welcomed government’s extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furloughing) to the end of June 2020, but pressed again for an acceleration of relief measures for businesses hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.
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Ahead of Harpers annual Innovations Report we're once again inviting you to single out the most impressive and business-enhancing innovations from across the drinks trade via a quick online survey.
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