The closures of pubs and bars during the pandemic could not stop Fever-Tree from reporting a 10.1 per cent year-on-year sales rise yesterday.
The mixers group added that its supermarket sales remained strong in the first four months of the year and while there was expected to be growth in sales at pubs, bars and restaurants as they reopened, it said it was “clear that at-home consumption of long mixed drinks is becoming increasingly established”.
Though Fever-Tree sought to pour some cold water on the results — warning that the “continuation of restrictions relating to the pandemic”as well as pressures from transport and other supply chain costs “have affected us” — it was confident that “we have delivered a strong sales performance and are trading in line with the board’s expectations for the full year to December 31, 2021, assuming levels of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic continue to subside”.
Indeed, demand is expected to rise after social distancing rules were relaxed on Monday. Trade from bricks-and-mortar venues is likely to vary between markets, but the posh tonics maker is confident that it can reap the rewards of increased home and venue drinking this year.
The company was established in 2004 by Tim Warrillow and Charles Rolls to make high-quality tonic for the premium gin market. It sells a range of mixers in more than 75 countries. Warrillow, 46, its chief executive, said in March that the company expected revenue growth in 2021 of between 12 per cent and 16 per cent at a similar margin to 2020. There was a 3 per cent fall in last year’s revenue to £252.1 million, which Warrilow said was resilient given the impact of lockdown restrictions on pubs and bars.
