The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scottish Euro bid was boost to lager sales
Scotland’s participation in the Euros – the men’s team’s first major football tournament in 23 years – boosted sales of Tennent’s lager during the year to February.
C&C Group, the Irish company behind the brand, has posted a near-88% year-on-year jump in net sales for the period to £1.21 billion.
Pre-tax profits came in at £38.4 million, compared with losses of £102m in 2020-21, when pubs and the wider hospitality industry took a major hit from Covid lockdowns.
Scotland reached the Euros after a thrilling penalty shoot-out against Serbia, but suffered defeats by Czech Republic and Croatia either side of a heroic 0-0 draw against England at Wembley.
That result was even more impressive as England went on to reach the final – where they lost to Italy
Dublin-based C&C Group reported a 26% jump in volume sales of Tennent’s in the year to February 28.
The company added: “Tennent’s performance was aided by Scotland qualifying for the first time in 23 years for a major football championship.
“Our multi-channel advertising campaign and associated on and off-trade promotional activity helped in part to drive brand health improvement.
“Tennent’s off-trade volume share of 24% has fallen, compared with FY2021 (24.6%), a reflection of Tennent’s benefiting in the previous year from disruption that competitor brands experienced as well as growth of the premium category.
“Encouragingly though, FY2022 share is higher than FY2020 (22.9%). In the year, our Tennent’s lager IFT (independent free trade) on-trade volumes have recovered back to 74% of FY2020 levels, with direct delivered outlets recovering to 88% of FY2020.”
Group chief executive David Forde said: “Following a period of unprecedented challenges for the hospitality sector, we are delighted to be back serving our customers and delivering our iconic and much-loved brands to our on-trade and off-trade partners.
“Encouraged by the reaction and resilience of the industry, we are pleased with how trading has recovered and the subsequent strength of customer and consumer demand, which reflects the enduring importance of the on-trade and the role that it plays in our society.”