Many British pubs have recently encountered problems obtaining supplies from their usual suppliers. The Diageo group, which produces Irish beer, has started to ration the volumes it sells to pubs due to a surge in demand.
“We’re OK at the moment. A delivery man brought us two kegs,” explains Michaela, the waitress at the Old Ivy House, a pub in the Clerkenwell district of central London.
“Last week, on the other hand, it was a problem. It went down very quickly, to the point that we had to introduce ration cards to make our stock last a little longer,” she said in 12:30 of the RTS.
Guests of the establishment must now consume two more drinks before being allowed to order a pint of Guinness. But after several days of shortage, the immutable ritual of Guinness, served slowly, was able to resume: Michaela filled a pint two-thirds full, then let the brownish liquid settle before activating the beer pump again.
21% increase
The beverage, traditionally presented as the drink of men of a certain age, is seeing its popularity grow among young people, and particularly young women. Sales of Guinness in volume thus jumped by almost 21% between July and October, despite a rather declining beer market, according to figures from the specialist firm CGA by NIQ.
“Last month we saw exceptional consumer demand for Guinness,” said a Diageo spokesperson. “We have maximized our offering and we are working proactively with our customers to manage distribution (…) as efficiently as possible,” he added.
“Guinnfluenceurs”
Earlier this year, Diageo chief executive Debra Crew said Guinness consumption was up 24% among women as the group shifted its marketing strategy to attract new consumers.
On social networks, influencers, renamed “Guinnfluenceurs”, have fueled the resurgence of success of the famous beer, including the star Kim Kardashian who published a photo of herself drinking Guinness on Instagram.
Some put themselves on stage by trying to complete the challenge of aligning, in a single sip, the quantity of liquid with the bar in the middle of the letter “G” on the Guinness logo written on the glass.
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To stop the shortage, Howard Thomas, 79, met by AFP at the Old Ivy House, has a solution: “Stop young people from drinking Guinness and there will be no more problem. Let’s keep it for the old people “.
Diageo specifies that the problem only concerns Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), and not Ireland or Northern Ireland.
Radio subject: Catherine Ilic
Web adaptation: edel with afp
