Fever-Tree reports ‘stand-out’ US growth as Britons fuel off-trade sales with home G&T boom

High-end British tonic maker Fever-Tree has revealed that last year it saw UK at-home sales up 20% on 2019 as more Britons “treated themselves” to a “well-deserved” gin and tonic during repeated lockdowns.


The firm said it had taken “proactive steps to build on the growing popularity of long mixed drinks as an everyday affordable treat at home”.  

Co-founder and chief executive, Tim Warrillow, told the Standard: “We’re pretty pleased and excited by the off-trade sales. We are already market leader [in home-bought tonic], and so to be 20% above that is a reflection of the fact that we now find ourselves in more people’s fridges and more households than ever before.”

The founder, who launched the business 15 years ago when Britain’s craft gin trend was just getting started, said that he believes the increased off-trade sales will be reflected in drinkers’ choices when they head back to the pub.

“It’s why we can’t wait for that on-trade to re-open, because we are pretty confident that people will be taking these habits that they have developed back into the on-trade as well,” he said.

The company, which will report its 2020 preliminary results on March 18, said on Thursday that total revenues for the year to December 31 were down 3% on 2019 to around £252 million after a “resilient” performance. This is ahead of guidance offered by the firm back in September.

UK sales were down 22% at £103.3 million, but overall revenues in its newer US market were up 23% at £58.5 million.

Warrilow said: “The US growth is despite the on-trade being closed. Our retail sales at the major retailers in the US are up 50% just in H2.