The Grocer has revealed Britain’s Biggest Alcohol Brands for 2021 and two Aussie wine ranges – 19 Crimes and Jam Shed – have been named among the fastest growing labels.

“A new breed of wine brands are tearing their way up the rankings by luring in coveted younger shoppers: Treasury Wine Estates’ 19 Crimes and Jam Shed both made strong gains, up 158.6% (£50.5m) and 151.6% (£27.3m) respectively – the second and third-largest gains in percentage terms in this entire report,” The Grocer reported.

Regarding 19 Crimes, The Grocer said: “When it comes to wine, the perceived wisdom is millennial men are notoriously difficult to engage. Treasury Wine Estates will disagree – because 19 Crimes, its brand aimed at such an audience, has added
£50.5million.”

TWE head of marketing Ben Blake said each wine in the range brings “something new and unique to the table that appeals to
millennial consumers and brings them into the wine category”.

Contributing to its profile as being one of the fastest growing brands is that it has also diversified into hard seltzer and a coffee-blended wine in the UK.

“The brand will continue to push the boundaries of the traditional wine category to appeal to a younger demographic by igniting their sense of discovery through the introduction of different products and flavour profiles,” Blake said.

“The new seltzers will not only appeal to those seeking refreshment occasions, but they will also meet the increased demand for lower ABV drinks options.”

As for Jam Shed being the third fastest growing brand for 2021, The Grocer noted: “Like its fellow up-and-comer 19 Crimes, Jam Shed has played a blinder by throwing
off wine’s conventional cues and targeting a younger crowd. It’s rocketed into the top 100 with a £27.3million gain, having
grown volumes by 154.3% across grocery. That’s an extra 3.3 million litres through tills.”

The success comes “at a time when wine was getting a bit stale in terms of its look” said marketing director Tom Smith, marketing director at owner Accolade Europe.

The brand has also attracted a loyal army of social media followers, who Accolade calls Shedheads.

“Every time the brand does something, they love it,” said Smith. “There are many Jam Shed groups that aren’t run by us. They’re just people talking about the brand and engaging. It started off very small, but now there are even YouTube channels where people talk about it.”

The biggest Aussie alcohol brands in Britain

Aside from having two of the three fastest growing brands, there were also two Aussie icons on the 10 Biggest Alcohol Brands in Britain 2021 list.

Accolade’s Hardy’s came in at No.9 with sales of £300.4million and growth of +6.8%. Smith said growth was inhibited by less marketing due to COVID-19.

“We didn’t end up activating the big campaign,” he said.

He explained that the planned activity “was around ‘certainty’ and, obviously in the context of the world we were operating in, we had to make a decision on if it was the right campaign, so we didn’t amplify it at that large scale”.

Foster’s came in at No.3 and is Britain’s third-biggest beer brand, with sales of £428.0million and growth of +8.0%

The Grocer noted: “Foster’s fortunes are illustrative of a year in which Brits largely preferred to fill their fridges with premium, world and craft beers, rather than standard – and less expensive – lager.

“Premiumisation is a trend that Foster’s has struggled to leverage. All growth came from its core variant, which shifted an extra 14.4 million litres. Other, pricier lines barely made a mark.”

Click here for a rundown of the 100 biggest alcohol brands in Britain