UK: Sherry sales rot cannot be stopped

    Leading Sherry producer Gonzalez Byass has said the category's decline in the UK cannot be stopped.

    UK Sherry sales have fallen steadily in the last decade, with a 3% volume sales fall in 2008, according to Nielsen figures.

    With 40% of Sherry drinkers over 65, Gonzalez claimed it needs to "recruit six new consumers for ever Sherry drinker that dies".

    Jeremy Rockett, Gonzalez UK marketing director, told just-drinks today (17 April): "We can't turn the market, although we are not giving up. We need to keep it current for as long as possible."

    He said that innovation in the category is unlikely because there is no consumer demand.

    A spokesman for the Sherry trade association, Fedejerez, claimed innovation could stem the decline. "We are trying to change the rules to allow 14% Finos to attract younger drinkers. We need to make sherry trendy like running cocktail competitions. That is the way forward."