February 6/Milan/Teatro Naturale -- The distilled spirits industry experienced growth in 2011 while taking more market share again from beer, reported Distilled Spirits Council president and CEO Peter Cressy at the industry's annual briefing. However, he warned, uncertainty about the economic recovery and the impact of new taxes could derail future growth.
Cressy said industry suppliers saw year-to-year volume growth of 2.7% to 195.8 million nine-liter cases, and sales growth of approximately 4% to $19.9 billion, reflecting a consumer return to premium products. On a revenue basis, this resulted in another three-tenths of a point in market share gains against beer, reaching 33.6% of the total beverage alcohol market. This represents approximately five points of market share since 2000, worth approximately $2.9bn annually.