Growth of FABs slips

Once enjoying double digit growth in the largest European market the UK - worth €2.1bn- saw volume growth slip from 19.3 per cent in 2001 to 6.3 per cent in 2003, according to a new report from market analysts Datamonitor.

"The major reason for this decline is their lack of cool,"​ said the analysts. Premixed spirits drinks became successful in bars and clubs, spreading to retail later in the UK, and 55 per cent of FABs volumes are still sold through the on-trade.

"Along with their less cloying flavours and their similarity to established grown-up spirits brands, the on-trade focus helped the brands escape from the unsophisticated image that alcoholic soft drinks once had."​

But, as John Band, author of the report 'Beer, Cider & FABs in the UK to 2008'​ said: "As premixed spirits have become mainstream they have become less appealing to the most discerning consumers. Clubbers have switched towards drinking white spirits such as Smirnoff and Bacardi, while cocktails have also made a comeback."​

According to the analyst, the gender gap has also contributed to a slip in sales."Being seen as a 'girly' drink is the kiss of death for any drinks brand that wants to target males - but women are not turned off by 'blokey' brands in the same way,"​ commented Band, adding that 65 per cent of FABs are drunk by women in the UK.

"Smirnoff Ice was launched as a drink targeted more at men than women, but it's now rare to see males drinking the standard product,"​ he added.

Looking to the future, Datamonitor predicts that a drinks brand aimed primarily at young adults is 'precarious' as they have 'promiscuous' tastes and are unlikely to remain loyal to a brand for any length of time.

""An older drinker may drink the same brand of beer or spirits for years, but young adults vary their brand from one drink to the next never mind from one year to the next,"​ said Band.