Prosecco has overtaken champagne to become Britain’s most popular sparkling wine, according to industry figures.
Shoppers spent £182million on the Italian fizz last year, compared with £141million on its French counterpart. It marks the first time that the cheaper variety has beaten champagne to top the spending table.
Volume sales of prosecco also increased in 2014, doubling to 21million litres – more than the combined total for champagne at 6.5million litres and Spanish cava at 13million.
Toby Magill, a wine specialist for analysts IRI, said the figures show shoppers still want to treat themselves despite making cutbacks. He told The Grocer magazine that people ‘want a little bit of luxury’.
According to market researchers Kantar Worldpanel, the average bottle of prosecco costs just £6.49, compared with £16.23 for champagne.
Lanson UK managing director Paul Beavis said: 'People come into the category through prosecco and then evolve into buying champagne as their interest in quality becomes more prominent.'
While overall champagne sales are down, Moet & Chandon and Lanson were in double-digit value growth last year according to IRI.
Experts warned that the popularity of prosecco meant it risked becoming a generic term for non-champagne sparkling wine.
Mr Magill said it would need to adapt to maintain momentum and added: 'Shoppers have not built loyalty to individual prosecco brands and suppliers will need to help shoppers see the value of their brands.'
(via DailyMail)
