Growth of Ultra-Premium Spirits Slow

Higher priced spirits showed signs of slowing in the four weeks to March 8, 2008, according to Nielsen U.S. food, drug and liquor scan data. The total spirits category grew 2.6% in value to almost $500 million and 1.6% in volume to 3.6 million cases. Excluding prepared cocktails, the industry gained 2.7% in sales and 1.7% in volume. Value priced spirits gained 1.2% in dollar sales in the four weeks to March and lost -0.3 share points. Volume was up