Beverages

The Beverages section on Catering Today covers the latest developments, trends, and business insights from across the UK drinks industry. From coffee and soft drinks to beers, wines, and spirits, it examines product innovation, supplier partnerships, and changing consumer preferences influencing restaurant, pub, and catering operations. Featuring brand updates, market analysis, and expert commentary, this coverage helps hospitality professionals stay informed on the commercial and operational drivers shaping the beverage segment.

Nov- 2025 -

10 November

Diageo appoints former Tesco boss as CEO

Drinks giant Diageo has announced the appointment of Sir Dave Lewis as its new CEO and executive director, effective 1 January 2026. Nik Jhangiani will continue as interim CEO until the end of December 2025 and then resume his CFO role thereafter. Deirdre Mahlan, having returned to Diageo as interim…
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6 November

Diageo posts flat sales in Q1

Diageo has revealed that its organic sales growth was flat for the 13 weeks ended 30 September 2025. Reported sales fell 2.2% from £4.99bn down to £4.86bn largely reflecting the negative impact of disposals and with negligible impact from foreign exchange. The company’s organic volume growth of 2.9% was offset…
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May- 2025 -

23 May

Beer and cider flourish in sunny Spring for drinks sales

Drinks sales in the UK rose 12% like-for-like in the week ended Saturday 3 May, the best performance of the year so far. This followed 2% growth in the seven days to Saturday 26 April, and high single-digit growth in the first half of April. Following a robust March, the…
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Apr- 2025 -

29 April

Carlsberg sees ‘soft start’ to 2025 amid Britvic merger

Carlsberg has had a “soft start” to the year according to group chief executive Jacob Aarup-Andersen following the completion of its merger with Britvic. The Danish company posted a revenue increase of 17.4% for the three months ended 31 March 2025 but saw a 1.5% organic revenue development loss globally.…
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Jul- 2024 -

30 July

Diageo FY sales fall 1.4% amid weaker demand in Latin America

Diageo has revealed that its reported net sales fell 1.4% to $20.3bn(£15.8bn) for the year ended 30 June 2024. The company has put this down to an unfavourable foreign exchange impact and organic net sales decline, partially offset by hyperinflation adjustments. Its organic net sales declined by $129m (£100.4m) or…
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25 July

Ireland drinks sales rise by 4.6% as customer habits shift

Drinks sales in Ireland pubs rose by 4.6% in the last 12 months fuelled by major shifts in people’s habits, CGA by NIQ has revealed. According to CGA’s On Premise User Survey, more than three quarters (78%) of people now typically visit drink-led pubs at least monthly, and nearly a…
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May- 2024 -

9 May

Brewdog CEO steps down

Brewdog co-founder and CEO James Watt has announced that he is set to step down after 17 years in charge. He informed the board of his decision last year and will be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer James Arrow. He will still own 21% of the company and…
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Mar- 2024 -

18 March

Drinks sales spring back to year-on-year growth

Drinks sales in the UK jumped 5% in the week ended 9 March following tough trading conditions in January and largely flat sales in February. Sales were up year-on-year on six of the seven days of the week, helped by big sporting events like the Manchester Derby in the Premier…
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Nov- 2023 -

23 November

A quarter of consumers to spend more on hot drinks, says CGA

Over a quarter of consumers (28%) have stated that they are likely to spend more on hot drinks in the next 12 months according to data from CGA. More than half (54%) say they are likely to pay extra for a better quality drink, a figure that rises even higher…
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Oct- 2023 -

3 October

UK F&B M&A activity up 68.2% despite absence of higher market deals

UK Food and Beverage M&A activity has seen a 68.2% increase in the volume of deals (37 transactions) compared with the same period in the prior year, according to Oghma Partners’ Food and Beverage M&A report. Deal value has also increased by 49.1% to c. £400.0m compared with the same…
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