Malt whisky distils young affluent audience

Malt whisky is fast becoming the preferred home drink for young, affluent, urban professionals, according to research released today by CACI.

The consumer analysts also reveal that, although several English cities appear high up in the study, those north of the border still retain the lead in consumption of this traditional spirit of Scotland.

CACI’s research shows that, nowadays, affluent young urbanites are twice as likely to indulge in a dram of malt at home as the average person in Great Britain.

Hot the heels of these young professionals for whisky consumption are remote rural communities, older families in prosperous suburbs, villages with wealthy commuters and well-off professionals in larger houses and converted flats.

Looking at consumers with a high propensity to drink malt at home, no less than 16 of the top 25 British supermarket catchments are in Scotland, including the entire top 10, as below:

	ASDA, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen
	ASDA, Newton Mearns, Glasgow
	ASDA, Milton, Dundee
	Tesco, Daneston, Aberdeen
	Tesco, Kingsway, Dundee
	Marks & Spencer, Princes Street, Edinburgh
	Tesco, Corstophine, Edinburgh
	ASDA, Chesser, Edinburgh
	Tesco, Lanark
	Sainsbury’s, Cameron Toll, Edinburgh

The research was conducted using ACORN, CACI’s geo-demographic classification system which classifies the entire UK population into 5 categories, 17 Groups and 56 Types. ACORN was the first – and remains one of the most powerful - consumer targeting tools, enabling marketers to fully understand local populations at postcode level.

Commenting on the findings, Ian Thurman, Director of CACI Scotland, said:

“In recent years malt whisky has thrown off the image as a drink of older generations, and has significantly increased its appeal amongst a younger, urban dwelling audience. This shift can largely be attributed to the deliberate efforts of whisky producers to target more affluent sectors of society. It will be interesting to see if Scotland hangs on to the top ten places in this ranking as whisky becomes even more of a lifestyle choice in English cities.”