Just a few weeks ago The Grocer questioned whether the drinks trade had the stomach for a protracted legal battle over minimum pricing.
Major brewers including Molson Coors and C&C Group voiced their support for a 40p per unit minimum price, with the Carling and Magners makers vowing to work with government rather than try forlornly to hold back the tide.
On the other hand, plenty felt a 40p minimum price would be the thin end of the wedge, arguing that giving ground in the battle would only invite the government to push on further.
“What is 40p today could be 50p or whatever in a year’s time,” reasoned one senior industry source.
Those words look increasingly prophetic. Ministers in Scotland today said they’d be setting a 50p price floor instead of the 45p previously indicated. It’s less a nudge than a shove over a cliff - and will pile on the worry for those concerned about the impact of minimum pricing south of the border.
Back in March, The Grocer investigated the plans’ likely impact and found more than a tenth of all drinks lines in the big four would fall foul of a 40ppu floor. That proportion rose to more than a third in the event of a 50ppu mark being set.
Like the classic charge against football referees, all the industry wants is consistency. Ironic then that the names of all of the UK’s regional governments appear atop today’s consultation on front-of-pack labelling, which is calling on the industry to come together to finally create one unifying measure of how healthy food is.
Perhaps some joined up thinking from government on alcohol wouldn’t hurt either.
No comments yet