Ambitious Diageo in the Food Delivery Industry: Digital Presence and Growth in the UK

Diageo, a British multinational alcoholic beverage company established in 1997, stands as one of the world’s leading premium drinks businesses. Based in North-West London, UK, the company originated from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan. Operating in over 180 countries and boasting a portfolio of 200 brands, Diageo is a dominant force in the global beverage alcohol industry, excelling in both spirits and beer. Its prominent brands encompass Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Baileys, Guinness, and numerous others, commanding a substantial 25% of the global volume share ^[1].
In 2022, the company accrued approximately 15.452 billion British pounds in net sales ^[2]. Among its diverse product range, scotch whisky constituted the most significant portion of Diageo's portfolio in terms of net sales. Beer and vodka held the second and third positions, respectively ^[3].

Utilizing technology adeptly to expand its reach and establish efficient connections with consumers, Diageo has forged partnerships with several food delivery platforms like UberEats and Deliveroo. By leveraging Dashmote’s Data Analytics SaaS platform, a comprehensive analysis of the 5 primary brands of Diageo on food delivery platforms in the UK was conducted. This analysis aimed to obtain valuable insights into their penetration rates, growth patterns, and overall market performance.

Dashmote’s data shows that in Q3 2023, there were over 252K digital storefronts operating on British food delivery platforms. Smirnoff emerged as the dominant player in the British delivery landscape, boasting an impressive 18K digital storefronts offering its products. This remarkable presence resulted in a substantial penetration rate of 7%, which stands as the highest among all Diageo’s brands in the current study. Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff are two of the world’s four largest international spirits brands by retail sales value ^[4]. In Diageo’s 2022 annual report, they noted Smirnoff’s net sales grew double digits in all regions,  with a particularly strong performance in Europe ^[5]. Our food delivery data reflects this dynamic market domination.

As shown in the above graph, all 5 brands exhibit notable digital storefront listings surpassing 3% in Q3 2023.  Its iconic global brand Guinness takes the second place, with 6% of all DSFs offering food delivery featuring its products. This is followed by Bailey’s at 5% and Tanqueray at 3%. 

Our data reveals that while various Diageo brands are present in the British food delivery sector, a considerable portion of the market remains untapped. For instance, Guinness exhibits a smaller penetration rate in comparison to Heineken, a Dutch beer brand, which holds a 7% penetration rate. The contrast becomes more pronounced when considering the dominance of the nr 1 soft drink company, which boasts a penetration rate of 72% across British food delivery platforms. Although it's important to note that alcoholic beverages encounter more restrictions in the food delivery market compared to soft drinks, by effectively leveraging food delivery data, there still exists a significant headroom for sustainable, long-term growth for Diageo in the food delivery industry.

Over the past decade, total beverage alcohol (TBA) has consistently shown robust value growth, with international spirits, where Diageo is the number one player, expanding at a faster rate compared to TBA ^[6]. While Diageo reported a 18% increase in operating profit in 2022, Dashmote data revealed the substantial growth in digital presence among its 5 key brands on British food delivery platforms.

In recent years, the food delivery sector in the UK has experienced an unprecedented surge - the total digital storefronts exhibited a remarkable growth of 51% since Q3 2021. Along with the growing market, Johnnie Walker has achieved the most substantial growth of 466% in its digital storefront listings in the past 2 years. Following closely behind is Tanqueray, registering impressive growth rates of 306%. Bailey’s (+168%), Smirnoff (+129%), and Guinness (+118%) all have doubled their digital presence since Q3 2021. Dashmote’s data demonstrates the strong performance of Diageo in the British food delivery sector. By leveraging food delivery data,  Diageo would continue to shape their brand portfolio, ensuring continual and sustainable growth.

Dashmote is dedicated to assisting enterprises in overcoming obstacles and achieving success in the digital market space. As the foremost provider of big data and AI analytics solutions in the food and beverage (F&B) sector, we enable companies to make informed strategic choices by offering thorough analysis and invaluable insights into the food delivery market and F&B trends. Interested in taking your online business to the next level? Feel free to reach out to our team at contact@dashmote.com. Together, we can establish a robust online footprint for your Food & Beverage enterprise.

If you find this article valuable, you may also be interested to check out more of our blog articles on beers, such as Heineken or Carlsberg.

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