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The alcohol industry

On this page

  • Facts and stats
  • Briefings
  • Reports
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Videos

The alcohol industry can be defined in various ways, with no agreed settled definition. The term is most commonly used to refer to corporations engaged in the production of alcoholic beverages. However, broader definitions also exist. The World Health Organization, for example, refers to ‘manufacturers of alcoholic beverages, wholesale distributors, major retailers and importers that deal solely and exclusively in alcohol beverages, or whose primary income comes from trade in alcohol beverages’, a definition that has been adopted by Public Health England (PHE).

PHE’s definition also includes entities that are dependent on funding and support from the industry, such as business associations or other non-state actors representing or funded largely by any of the previously outlined entities, as well as: industry lobbyists; coalitions; corporate philanthropic foundations; charities; and social aspect (public relations) organisations (SAPROs).

The alcohol industry exerts significant influence, not only in its commercial activities but also over social and political perceptions and responses to alcohol. It does so through a variety of activities, including: the development of alliances, with trade associations and SAPROs, and with non-industry allies such as think tanks; and corporate social responsibility programmes.

The Institute of Alcohol Studies has estimated that the production and sale of alcohol was worth £46 billion to the UK economy in 2014, accounting for 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product and 3.7% of all consumer spending. The vast majority of the economic value of alcohol production in the UK comes from two different activities: brewing beer for the domestic market (largely to be sold in the on-trade) and distilling spirits for export (predominantly Scotch whisky).

As well as making and selling alcohol, researchers have identified five different ways in which industry actors seek to influence regulation:

  1. Constituency building
  2. Policy substitution
  3. Information and messaging
  4. Financial incentives
  5. Trade and litigation

This page contains detailed information on how the alcohol industry operates.

Facts and stats

  • The industry’s value chain is supported by a number of collective bodies, which give producers a voice in the public sphere.
  • This includes trade associations (e.g., The Scotch Whisky Association) and ‘social aspects and public relations organisations’ (SAPROs, e.g., Drinkaware)

What is the alcohol industry? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

How is the alcohol industry split? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

How many people does the alcohol industry employ? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

Who are the top-selling alcohol brands in the UK? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

  • In 2018, there were 133,000 licensed on-trade premises, including pubs and bars. The largest UK pub operators are:

Who are the leading alcohol retailers in the UK (on-trade)? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

  • Around 70% of UK alcohol sales occur in off-trade premises 
  • Major grocery retailers represent two-thirds of off-trade sales 
  • Specialist alcohol retailers and corner shops represent 25%
  • Convenience stores represent a tenth

Who are the leading alcohol retailers in the UK (off-trade)? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

  • Industry actors seek to influence policy by framing arguments around alcohol in a way that places responsibility on a minority of ‘problematic’ individual consumers, and thus away from alcohol itself, the industry’s practices and population-level policy measures. (McCambridge, 2018)
  • The alcohol industry’s actions to influence policy and regulation are similar to that of the tobacco industry’s actions. (Bond, L. et al., 2010; Savell, E. et al., 2016; McCambridge, J. and Morris, S., 2019)
  • Researchers have identified 5 key ways in which the industry attempts to influence regulations (Savell, E. 2016)
    • Constituency building: 
      • Forming industry groups and associations to assist coordination and collaboration
      • Forming alliances with sympathetic non-trade bodies e.g. think tanks
    • Policy substation: 
      • Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, apparently promoting the social good independently of the government
      • Developing self-regulation as an alternative to government restrictions
    • Information and messaging: 
      • Developing evidence: Funding and shaping original research
      • Disseminating evidence: collating and interpreting existing evidence, for the public and policymakers
      • Lobbying: making direct proposals and representations to policymakers
    • Economic incentives: 
      • Using economic incentives to influence policymakers, particularly employment opportunities and connections
    • Trade litigation: 
      • Shaping trade policy to secure favourable terms and access to new markets
      • Using legal challenges to undermine unfavourable policies and regulation (typically on the basis of trade law)

Briefings

The alcohol industry: Social and political activities

The alcohol industry: an overview

Alcohol energy (calorie) labelling: Evidence, public support, alternatives, and wider labelling considerations

November 2021

Reports

People, Planet, or Profit: alcohol’s impact on a sustainable future

November 2022

Corporate Political Activity of the Alcohol and Gambling Industries

September 2022

IAS response to consultation on alcohol alternatives

May 2022

The Marketing and Consumption of No and Low Alcohol Drinks in the UK

March 2022

Nudge theory and alcohol policy – how nudge frames drinkers and industry

Nudge theory and alcohol policy: how nudge frames drinkers and industry

December 2020

IAS response to UK Internal Market White Paper

August 2020

Brexit battlegrounds: Where are public health and the alcohol industry likely to clash in the years ahead?

May 2018

Pubs quizzed: What publicans think about policy, public health and the changing trade

September 2017

IAS response to Public Consultation on a proposal for a mandatory Transparency Register

May 2016

Blogs

10529The rules that govern the rules: why meta-regulation matters for public health

The rules that govern the rules: why meta-regulation matters for public health

Dr Kathrin Lauber and Dr Eleanor Brooks

29th November 2023

10518Alcohol duty frozen in Autumn Statement: What does this mean?

Alcohol duty frozen in Autumn Statement: What does this mean?

Jem Roberts

24th November 2023

10470Acceptable, accessible and affordable – but at what cost? 

Acceptable, accessible and affordable – but at what cost? 

Alice Wiseman

15th November 2023

10316Rainbows in June: Selling alcohol to LGBTQ+ people

Rainbows in June: Selling alcohol to LGBTQ+ people

Dr David Whiteley

4th October 2023

10188A flexible playbook: what unites corporate political strategies of alcohol and other health-harming industries?

A flexible playbook: what unites corporate political strategies of alcohol and other health-harming industries?

Dr Selda Ulucanlar

5th July 2023

10043Why are particular alcohol policies adopted in some contexts and not others, and what is the role of the alcohol industry in these developments?

Why are particular alcohol policies adopted in some contexts and not others, and what is the role of the alcohol industry in these developments?

Dr Benjamin Hawkins and Dr May van Schalkwyk

23rd May 2023

8923How the cost of living crisis affects alcohol harm

How the cost of living crisis affects alcohol harm

Dr Philip Broadbent

18th April 2023

8909How the alcohol and gambling industries frame harm in the same way

How the alcohol and gambling industries frame harm in the same way

Saloni Bhuptani

12th April 2023

Podcasts

Alcohol, tobacco, and junk food industries make £53 billion a year from harmful consumption

In this month’s podcast, we spoke to Dr Aalaa Jawad about a new report by the AHA, OHA and ASH […]

Dr Aalaa Jawad – Public Health Registrar
Susan Taylor – Head of Alcohol Policy, Balance

November 2023

What are the commercial determinants of health?

The phrase ‘commercial determinants of health’ is being increasingly used in the public health sphere. But what does it mean, […]

Jeff Collin – Professor of Global Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh

January 2023

Why the alcohol industry can’t afford to let us kick our drinking problem

James Wilt, PhD candidate and author of ‘Drinking up the Revolution’, writes that we aren’t talking enough about the influence […]

James Wilt – Journalist

August 2022

Investment case of alcohol control policies

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a book entitled ‘Preventing Harmful Alcohol Use’, 19 May 2021. We […]

Michele Cecchini – OECD
Dr Sheila Gilheany – Alcohol Action Ireland
Eunan McKinney – Alcohol Action Ireland
Laura Mahon – Alcohol Focus Scotland

June 2021

Videos

Big Alcohol: Explained

September 2023

Corporate Political Activity of the Alcohol and Gambling Industries – launch webinar

September 2022

Alcohol & Human Rights

March 2022

Alcohol industry sustainability commitments

January 2022

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