The rise of counterfeit spirits

It is estimated that the rapidly growing global beverage market will be worth almost $1.7 billion by 2028. However, the increasing trend seen in counterfeit drinks – which now account for approximately 25 % of alcohol consumption worldwide – has had a significant economic impact on lost revenue and reduced market share. The significantly lower retail prices of these copycat products make them particularly attractive to young adults, and those purchasing in bulk for large events. But even someone trying to avoid these cheap imitations may still fall victim to buying them by mistake, as many replica brand bottles have fake caps and labels that are almost identical to the real thing.

Safeguarding the supply chain

The substandard conditions used to make counterfeit alcohol have been known to cause damaging health consequences in consumers, including blindness, nerve damage, and even death. Unregulated distillation of ethanol, not spending the necessary time or money to properly perform this process, using low quality ingredients, and adding toxic chemicals such as methanol, have all proved to be detrimental. It is therefore crucial for trading standards authorities to check for and report any of these replica products – whether it’s wine in France, vodka in Russia, or whisky in Scotland – for the health of the general public, and also because their presence can damage customer confidence in trustworthy brands.