Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Business
Brian McGleenon

Fever-Tree overtakes Schweppes as top tonic water in US

Fever Tree tonic

(Picture: Fever Tree)

Fever-Tree has seen its spirits rise in the US after overtaking Schweppes to become America’s top tonic water brand.

The London-based tonic and mixer maker today announced strong double-digit revenue growth in the US, with sales doubling since 2019.

Just over three after setting up its US operations, Fever-Tree is now the number one Ginger Beer brand in America.

The company finished 2021 by snapping up 26% of the US retail tonic water market share, compared to Schweppes’ 25%. It overtook the tonic giant for the first time ever in the final four weeks of 2021.

Tim Warrillow, CEO of Fever-Tree, said: "Most notably we finished the year as the No.1 Tonic Water brand by value at US retail, which is a significant achievement, matching an accolade that we have held in the UK for a number of years."

The drinks mixer manufacturer saw its total revenue grow by 23% in the year after capitalising on the trend of people making long mixed drinks at home during the pandemic.

A successful marketing campaign and new product innovations in the US saw steady gains year-on-year, with the company’s 2021 sales up 24% against 202 and 97% vs. 2019.

Since the relaxation of Covid restrictions at the tail end of 2021, Fever-Tree’s on-trade sales in the UK - sales to bars and restaurants - increased by 59%. This was achieved despite the emergence of the Omicron variants towards the end of the year.

Fever-Tree’s off-trade market share in the UK now stands at 39.8%, underpinned by the increasing popularity of the use of long mixed drinks at home.

Throughout all regions, the company estimates its revenue will grow to between £355 million and £365 million in 2022 because of “the momentum the Group has built in our key markets”.

Warrillow added: “The group continues to deliver impressive growth in every one of our key markets, however, I am of course mindful that short-term logistics challenges and cost pressures remain, along with On-Trade restrictions, albeit at a much lower level than this time last year.

Fever-Tree shares fell today by 160p to 2,221p, down 6.1%.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.