This report covers the UK market for liqueurs in the on- and off-trade on which excise duty is paid in the UK. Duty-free sales and personal imports of duty-paid product have been excluded from all data unless specified.

The liqueurs market splits into two main types: traditional liqueurs, such as Cointreau or Tia Maria are typically thick, sweet products with a spirit base and combined with an infusion of flavours such as fruit or herbs and cream-based liqueurs, such as Bailey’s Irish Cream.

This report covers the UK market for liqueurs in the on- and off-trade on which excise duty is paid in the UK. Duty-free sales and personal imports of duty-paid product have been excluded from all data unless specified.

The liqueurs market splits into two main types: traditional liqueurs, such as Cointreau or Tia Maria are typically thick, sweet products with a spirit base and combined with an infusion of flavours such as fruit or herbs and cream-based liqueurs, such as Bailey’s Irish Cream.

Traditional liqueurs often appear in classic cocktails eg, Cointreau or Grand Marnier in Cosmopolitans. Helped by the continuing popularity of cocktails, Mintel forecasts this segment will grow to represent over half of all liqueur value sales by 2013 in an otherwise declining market.

Currently, liqueurs are still more likely to be drunk neat (three quarters of drinkers) rather than in cocktails (less than half), primarily due to the dominance of market leader Bailey’s Cream which is a rare example of a strong brand in a heavily fragmented market.

Despite being drunk by a half of UK adult drinkers, the total liqueurs market suffers from its perception, by women especially, as a guilty pleasure to be indulged in only occasionally. For example, a half of liqueur drinkers think “they make a nice treat”, a third that “that they are fine in small measures” and a quarter that “they are for special occasions only”.

Key to arresting value sales decline is to increase occasions for usage and offset guilt about drinking liqueurs more often. Becoming more integral in the dessert category can help to replace the diminishing after-dinner liqueur occasion, while mixing liqueurs with functional ingredients such as superfruits can balance indulgence and health.

Dual targeting is also key to maximising revenue. Older (45+ year-olds) consumers associate drinking liqueurs with in-home, after-dinner “cocooning” occasions. In contrast, 18-24 year olds are much more likely to drink liqueurs as part of a cocktail, therefore perceiving them as exciting, sociable and about going out.