The Guinness Six Nations championship, which kicked off at the weekend, finally gave pubs and bars a reason to cheer as nearly 17.5 million pints were served.
Most pleasing was the increase in footfall, says hospitality insight company the Oxford Partnership. The rugby enticed 30% more consumers to visit, and with back-to-back games on Saturday, it also encouraged people to stay 38 minutes longer. All of this meant that the average pub enjoyed draught sales of nearly 660 pints over the weekend.
Scottish fans had much to celebrate with the Calcutta Cup win, which saw an uplift of 238 pints per venue. Wales followed with 184 extra pints per venue, with England trailing at 149 additional pints.
The biggest winner was the headline sponsor, Diageo, which saw sales of Guinness rise 48% over the first weekend. Lager also performed well, with the premium lager category, made up of brands like Stella Artois, gaining 51%, and the world lager category, including Birra Moretti, Corona and Peroni, up 65%.
Alison Jordan, chief executive of Oxford Partnership, said: “While it is still early days for 2022, such strong data at the start of the Six Nations indicates a solid recovery is ahead.
“It is so exciting to see the industry only performing slightly behind 2019, driven by a growing consumer confidence shown in the increased footfall. However, we urge government to continue to support the industry, which has been under so much strain over nearly two years.”
