Bord Bia’s purpose is to bring Ireland’s outstanding food, drink and horticulture to the world, thus enabling the growth and sustainability of producers.

P.10 In recent years, a new category of alcohol exports has emerged: vodka-based RTD products manufactured under licence. Around 90% of these are exported to the US with the other 10% spread between UK and EU markets. The value of these exports has grown from approximately €55 million in 2022 to almost €220 million in 2024. This growth is expected to continue, albeit at a slower pace, as RTD products continue to grow in popularity among younger consumers. 

P.36 Alcoholic Beverages: 2024 export performance demonstrated the resilience of the Irish drink industry, with a total of 113 export markets served. Exports increased by 19% to just over €2.1 billion with growth in most subcategories and regions, especially with whiskey, which increased by 13% and readyto-drink (RTD) products, achieving a threefold increase year on year. Beer represented a 15% export market share while liqueurs were at 18%, with the UK, EU and US continuing to dominate. This is all against a difficult trading backdrop of geopolitical volatility, labour challenges and an evolving value-conscious consumer, with premiumisation, as a trend, in general, seeing a slowdown. On the upside the Global Travel Retail (GTR) channel continued to recover following the difficulties of Covid-19, with channel value back above 2019 levels (IWSR 2024a). This growth is a result of price increases globally and the stronger performance of premiumisation within GTR relative to other channels...