It’s a very happy St. Patrick’s Day for Guinness owner Diageo, as sales soar for the famous two-part pour
Over 1.8 billion pints are sold every year.
Sláinte! Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a celebration of the patron saint of Ireland that first originated in the Emerald Isle but is now celebrated everywhere from the States, to Singapore, to the UAE… not least because of the massive Irish diaspora, with ~10 million citizens having emigrated from Ireland since 1800.
But at the heart of the parades, shamrocks, and questionable leprechaun getups on display today stands one of the longest-held Irish institutions: the 250-year-old, Dublin-born stout, Guinness. March is always a shining highlight for the black stuff, as St. Paddy’s, which sees ~13 million pints of Guinness consumed, coincides with the Six Nations, a Guinness-sponsored rugby tournament — with Google searches for the drink spiking annually around this time.
However, over the last few years, Guinness has cemented its place in the mainstream, reaching regions and consumer segments previously impenetrable to it. Net sales were up 13% worldwide year over year for the six months up to December 31, 2024, according to parent company Diageo, with particularly strong bumps in North America (up 17%) and Europe (up 19%).
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Pulling power
Having seen a turnaround in the wake of the pandemic — perhaps in part because purists were drawn back to bars and pubs for the “perfectly poured” draft — Guinness has been a bright spot in Diageo’s beer segment, which made up 16% of the drinks giant’s sales in FY24 against a challenging backdrop throughout the booze industry.
Guinness’ secret? Trending on social media, with the craze of “splitting the G” going viral on TikTok; appealing to a broad spectrum of drinkers, as Diageo notes that the number of female Guinness drinkers is up 50% year on year; and, per The Economist, aligning better with modern palates on account of its distinctive “smoky tang.”
Zero dark… Alcohol-free Guinness has also been booming, as consumers continue to shift away from alcohol. Diageo reported that net sales of Guinness 0.0% more than doubled in Europe in fiscal 2024, and the alternative now accounts for ~3% of Guinness volumes globally.
