Diageo is closely managing sales of Guinness to pubs in Britain after seeing "exceptional consumer demand" for the stout over the past month.
Guinness has bucked the wider market trend for beer, British sales of which have declined marginally year-on-year in Britain recently, while sales of Guinness by the keg have risen by around a fifth, according to hospitality data company CGA.
Diageo, the British drinks group that owns Guinness, Baileys and Smirnoff among other brands, has sought to increase supply and better manage distribution to pubs as demand for Guinness has now surged to an unprecedented level during what is already the peak season.
“Over the past month we have seen exceptional consumer demand for Guinness in GB," a Diageo spokesperson said.
"We have maximised supply and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible."
The issue is limited to Britain and has not affected Irish pubs though.
A spokesperson for the Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) said there had been no complaints from its publicans about supply of Guinness, and a spokesperson for the Licensed Vintners' Association (LVA) indicated similarly, saying it was only an issue in Britain.
The uptick in demand for Guinness in Britain has been credited to younger drinkers and influencers taking pictures of themselves drinking a pint of the black stuff.
Pub group JD Wetherspoon, which has more than 800 pubs in the UK, said earlier this year that demand for Guinness from younger punters had helped to push overall sales up 3.3% in the 13 weeks to 28 April compared with the same period last year.
Tim Martin, founder and chairman of the chain, forecasted that annual profits would be "towards the top of market expectations" in 2024 as a result.
"The gods of fashion have smiled upon Guinness, previously consumed by blokes my age, but now widely adopted by younger generations," said Martin.
Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and singer Olivia Rodrigo have shared images of themselves drinking Guinness on social media, and thousands have followed their lead on TikTok.
A number of influencers share videos of themselves rating pints of Guinness based on criteria such as the 'tilt test,' where drinkers tilt their pint at a 45-degree angle to see how creamy the Guinness is, and 'shtick', ie how much is left stuck to the glass after the pint has been finished, apparently indicating smoothness and superior taste.
There's also the 'Splitting the G' challenge, where users film themselves taking their first sip and making sure they reach down to the 'G' on the Guinness glass.
Diageo is currently building a €200m carbon neutral brewery at a greenfield site near Newbridge, Co Kildare to increases its beer output, and the group has also invested €30m into St James's Gate brewery to meet demand for non-alcoholic Guinness 0.0.
(Pic: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
