Single serve wines flying at supermarkets

Sales of single serve bottles of wine are soaring at UK supermarkets due to a consumer desire to control their weekly unit intake and avoid wastage.

As reported by The Guardian, year on year sales of 18.75cl (quarter) bottles of wine are up by 21% at Sainsbury’s and 10% at Tesco, with mini bottles of Prosecco driving the growth at the former.

Sainsbury’s has recently expanded its range of single serve wines in response to the increased demand.

While consumers have to pay more for the privilege of a smaller serve, a greater selection of wines in smaller formats is increasing interest in the category.

The appeal of the 18.75cl serve is that the majority of the wines fall within the recommended maximum of two to three units of alcohol a day for women.

A standard 75cl bottle of 13.5% abv wine contains 10 units of alcohol.

“A growing number of Brits are putting more thought into the amount of wine they are consuming. When buying a full-sized bottle of wine, there is always a temptation to finish the bottle, Tesco wine buyer Ami Harmer told The Guardian.

“The single serve bottles of wine enable people to pour themselves a good glass and keep a close eye on the number of units they are consuming,” she added.

M&S has seen 12% year on year sales growth of its Le Froglet wine, which comes in a 25cl plastic cup.

The store boasts a 36-strong range of single serve bottles, including 10 50cl wines, all of which are packaged in recyclable PET bottles.