Die Stimmungslage in der schottischen Whiskyindustrie kann momentan nur freundlich als „gedämpft“ umschrieben werden. Wie ein neu erschienener Report von Johnston Carmichel, der die größten unabhängigen Kanzlei für Wirtschaftsprüfung, Steuerberatung und Unternehmensberatung festhält, blicken nur 37% der von ihnen betreuten Unternehmen optimistisch in die Zukunft. Größte Sorgen der Industrie sind neben der Weltlage die Arbeitskosten, die regulatorische Situation und die Zölle.
Einen guten Überblick gibt die nachfolgende Zusammenfassung des Reports in der englischsprachigen Presseaussendung:
| Presseartikel | Für den Inhalt ist das Unternehmen verantwortlich |
UK whisky sector struggles for optimism against tariff and export uncertainty
Johnston Carmichael’s annual food and drink survey highlights the whisky sector’s stagnation with just 37% optimism against raft of challenges
UK whisky businesses are struggling to maintain optimism due to a range of escalating domestic and international cost pressures, according to a new survey of the sector.
The despondent thoughts of whisky distillers have been gathered as part of an annual food and drink report commissioned by leading UK independent accountancy and business advisory firm Johnston Carmichael.
The research, which questioned businesses about industry challenges and opportunities over the past 12 months, highlights a number of pressures facing firms and how they are fighting to prosper without significantly rising prices for consumers.
Just 37% of whisky businesses reported feeling optimistic, compared to 56% of the wider group of food and drink firms surveyed.
While the largest area of cost increases for whisky distillers is labour (42%), whisky distillers are also contending with ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and unpredictability. The impact of tariffs is one of their greatest regulatory concerns (37%) alongside taxation (47%).
The effects of this are emphasised by the fact that new export customers remain the main growth driver (37%) for whisky businesses, illustrating the continued importance of trading internationally.
While still being a primary export market (32%), trade sentiment with the European Union (EU) also remains a challenge with just 21% of respondents reporting more positivity than last year compared to 58% reporting either the same or less positive sentiments.
The survey does also report signs of defiance for the industry, with 79% investing in their business to develop new products and increase innovation. Despite the challenges, whisky customers have largely (79%) faced just a 0-5% average price increase.
Grant Roger, Audit Partner and lead of the Whisky Finance Director Club, said:
“This year’s food and drink survey has laid bare the magnitude of challenges that are disproportionally affecting UK whisky distillers.
“The issues faced in international trading are in addition to domestic challenges with labour and taxation costs continuing to rise. This, combined with lower Gen Z alcohol consumption, has led to stagnation in the market and goes a long way to explaining why optimism levels are below 40%.”
The stagnation of growth is reflected in its people too. Respondents claimed 37% of people who have left the whisky industry have done so due to stagnant salaries, with a further 27% citing a lack of progression.
Further adding to the sector’s woes, 21% reported that energy costs was the largest cost increase across their business. This compares to just 9% of wider respondents.
Roger added:
“The resilience of the UK food and drink industry shouldn’t be understated and there is positivity in the levels of innovation and new product development. But while the sector as a whole faces challenges, whisky distillers are experiencing major obstacles above and beyond what many others are.
“Whisky is crucial to the UK food and drink industry and remains the runway for all other producers to flourish. However, insights are clear that amidst widespread global uncertainty the sector craves greater clarity and stability.”
Johnston Carmichael works with more than 500 food and drink producers across the UK, including some of the country’s most successful privately-owned companies.
