Responsible alcohol marketing organisation the Portman Group has found “near universal” adherence to its code of practice following a proactive independent audit undertaken by Zenith Global.
Of the 500 products chosen at random and assessed by Zenith, only 5% were ultimately judged to be in breach of marketing guidelines, resulting in a packaging redesign or withdrawal from the market.
Two retailer bulletins were issued asking retailers to stop stocking products.
The high levels of compliance was “excellent news” and demonstrated “the strength of the self-regulatory model,” said Portman Group CEO Matt Lambert.
“Whilst it’s disappointing to have to issue two retailer alert bulletins, the first since 2023, it shows that the Portman Group is willing to take tough action when producers refuse to engage or to follow our advice,” he said.
The self regulatory body revealed it had received a total of 96 complaints in 2025 – 47% from members of public, 38% from Zenith Global Commercial (independent auditor) and 15% from specialist interest or competitors. Half of cases considered by the Portman Group’s Independent Complaints Panel were upheld.
As a result of the audit, producers have been warned to be extra vigilant to ensure that products do not potentially have a particular appeal to under-18s or encourage irresponsible or immoderate consumption. These two rules were breached more often than any other code rules.
While previous audits were undertaken in conjunction with reviews of the Portman Group’s code of practice, the body would now undertake a proactive audit every two years, it said.
“The work of the panel overall this year has increased significantly and, with the commitment of the Portman Group to the audit on a biennial basis, this is likely to become the norm,” said panel chair Rachel Childs. “This substantial piece of work demonstrates not only the high rate of compliance of the industry as a whole, but the desire from the vast majority of producers to work with the Portman Group in a constructive way to ensure products are acceptable under the code.
“Every case that comes before the panel helps the industry develop its understanding of how the code is applied and allows the executive at the Portman Group to continually refine and develop the code and its guidance accordingly.”
The Portman Group said it was increasing the amount of training and guidance it was offering to producers in order to help them stay within code rules.
The number of training sessions ran in 2025 increased by a third, “highlighting how the Portman Group seeks to proactively support the industry in making sure that responsible marketing is the easy choice”, it added.
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