What's going on with Spirits Giants

Resilience and Polarisation, the new buzz words of the sector

The Structural Reset of Global Spirits

The period spanning August through November 2025 marks a definitive conclusion to the post-pandemic cycle of inflated volume growth across the global spirits industry. Recent earnings disclosures from major conglomerates, including Pernod Ricard and Diageo, confirm a challenging structural reset characterised by two dominant forces: pervasive deceleration in top-line growth and profound polarisation across key markets, categories, and consumer behaviours.

The initial exuberance that propelled the spirits sector through 2022 and 2023, primarily fueled by premiumization and inventory rebuilding, has fully corrected. The industry has transitioned from a growth-at-all-costs mandate to a rigorous focus on cash flow protection and defence of operating margins, a shift that has severely punished public companies reliant on aggressive quarterly performance.¹