A Diageo spokesperson told Food Manufacture that it was working proactively with pub and bar customers to “manage the distribution” as efficiently as possible.
The shortages have been attributed to “exceptional consumer demand” for Guinness in Britain, which led to Diageo maximising the supply.
The Times was the first to report on this story and pointed to the rise of social media “Guinnfluencers” as a cause of the rise in demand.
“Over the past month we have seen exceptional consumer demand for Guinness in GB,” a Diageo spokesperson said.
“We have maximised supply and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible.”
Guinness is the word
In a recent article for Food Manufacture, The Flava People CEO Scott Dixon charted the rise of Guinness from ‘old man drink’ to the most popular pint in Britain.
In response to this groundswell, Diageo has announced plans to invest more than €100m in the historic Dublin brewery where Guinness is made, St James’s Gate, while it has committed to spend a further €30m on the production of Guinness 0.0, its alcohol-free option.
Meanwhile, a second brewery is under construction in County Kildare, which is located south west of Dublin.
Despite the growing popularity of Guinness, Diageo suffered $304m decline in operating profit during its 2024 fiscal year, in large part due to a decline in organic net sales of more than 21% in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
Diageo also sold its majority stake in Guinness Nigeria during June for approximately £54m.
Touching on the challenging environment for global drinks businesses in a recent statement, the group’s CEO Debra Crew said: “While consumers continue to be cautious in this environment, we are focused on strengthening the resilience of our business through operational excellence, productivity and strategic investments to win quality market share.”
