#StPatricksDay: Who rules the stout market?

General view of a pint of Guinness during the Cheltenham Festival

General view of a pint of Guinness during the Cheltenham Festival

Published Mar 17, 2017

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Johannesburg

– Data provided by market research provider Euromonitor International shows

that Guinness is still the top stout player.

However,

Euromonitor International, notes this

brand – popular on St Patrick’s Day – saw its brand share drop from 57.7

percent in 2010 to 50.5 percent in 2015.

It adds

the UK is still the largest market for Guinness, although it registered a

decline.

Euromonitor’s

research shows that, unlike the declining global beer market, stout consumption

is growing to reach 2.2 billion liters in 2020.

This

consumption, it says, is being driven by China, where use of the product has

increased from 9.7 million liters in 2010 to 130 million in 2015, and is

forecasted to reach 566 million liters in 2020.

However,

the US represents the largest market for stout consumption, almost doubling

from 173 million liters in 2010 to 315.4 million liters in 2020.

The UK

represents the largest European market for stout consumption and second

globally, although a decline has been registered in the past five years and is

projected to continue by 2020.

Looking

at the top ten markets, it notes four African countries appear in the top ten:

Nigeria ranks thirds but registers a decline due to economic headwinds, while

Cameron, South Africa and Kenya all register growth.

Ireland

remains the top country for per capita consumption of stout, despite the

decline from 36 liters per capita in 2010 to 27.8 in 2015 to 26.5 in 2020

Analyst

Anna Ward notes, “in 2015, global beer volume growth turned negative for the

first time in over a decade.

However,

stout’s performance has been positive since 2014, following years of marginal

growth. The category’s progress in China was the major reason for this

improvement, as sustained double-digit growth in the country has raised volumes

to a level that has global implications.”

Ward

adds “stout is abundant in the US craft beer market. Total volumes of stout in

the US rose by 7 percent in 2015, making a significant contribution to global

growth. Although craft beers are predominantly ales, seasonal beers found in

the winter are often stouts or porters, which are helping to make the US the

largest stout market globally.”

In

Nigeria, which was the third largest stout market in 2015, macroeconomic

headwinds have been pushing consumers away from stout towards typically cheaper

lager, says Ward.

“In line

with beer in general, stout volumes in the UK and Ireland showed a slight

decrease in 2015. Stout sales are biased towards the on-trade, where

consumption rates have been affected by fairly stagnant disposable incomes and

financial insecurity.”

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