Unlocking mixed drinks and spritz potential

Consumer Behavior

The spritz is quickly becoming the brightest spot in a challenging spirits market – now Britain’s most popular cocktail and a powerful gateway for new mixed‑drink consumers.

Content

After several years of steady growth, the Aperol Spritz has become Britain’s most popular cocktail. It attracted 13.6% of all cocktail spending in the third quarter of 2025—a very sharp increase of 3.7 percentage from the same period in 2024. The growth means it has overtaken both Sex on the Beach and Pornstar Martini as the nation’s biggest cocktail in volume terms.

NIQ’s new Mixed Drinks Report provides more essential insights into this dynamic part of the market, helping pinpoint opportunities and sharpen category strategies.

Here are just six of the top takeaways.

1. An affluent and loyal base

Spritz drinkers are some of the On-Premise’s most valuable users. Three in five (59%) of them visit at least weekly, and they spend an average of £121 a week in the On-Premise. They are loyal to the spritz too, with a quarter (19%) choosing one every time or most times they go out—though there remains plenty of potential to increase the frequency of more occasional drinkers.

2. A gateway for new cocktail drinkers

The spritz is a particularly appealing mixed drinks option for men and older consumers. Well over a third (38%) of drinkers are male, which is 5 percentage points more the average among all cocktail consumers. 9% of them are aged 65+, compared to 5% of all cocktail drinkers. This indicates that some drinkers are experiencing mixed drinks for the first time when they buy a spritz.

3. Brands and refreshments the key to sales

Branding is a major influence on sales. Just over half (54%) of spitz consumers say the brand in a spritz is very or somewhat important to them. Drinkers are also looking for refreshment, with 43% citing it as a reason in their purchase. A third (33%) say they are attracted by the light taste of a spritz, which can be a particularly powerful draw for health-conscious consumers who are increasingly aware of ABV.

4. A route into new dayparts

The spritz can also open doors to spirits consumption in earlier dayparts. Overall cocktail consumption peaks in the late evening, but the spritz heavily over-index for mid-afternoon purchases.

5. Opportunities beyond Aperol

It’s not just Aperol that is driving spritz sales. It’s also an opportunity for vodka, tequila and gin, with more than a quarter of all spritz consumers typically choosing these. For gin in particular, where sales have declined in recent years, this serve style gives operators and suppliers an opportunity to reignite interest.

6. Execution is everything

After stellar recent performance, the spritz has headroom for even more growth in the coming months. However, operators will have to ensure they provide consistently good spritz serves. Currently only 13% of consumers say their spritz is served well every time they buy one, with incorrect ratios, poor mixology and insufficient ice as the three most common problems. Suppliers can play a part in improving performance by providing training and other practical support.

Discover the Spritz Surge

Explore the latest trends in mixed drinks, spritz serves and other cocktail categories by channel, occasion, dayparts and more.

Unlocking Mixed Drinks and Spritz Potential

Consumer Behavior

1. An affluent and loyal base

2. A gateway for new cocktail drinkers

3. Brands and refreshments the key to sales

4. A route into new dayparts

5. Opportunities beyond Aperol

6. Execution is everything

Discover the Spritz Surge

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Consumer Behavior

1. An affluent and loyal base

2. A gateway for new cocktail drinkers

3. Brands and refreshments the key to sales

4. A route into new dayparts

5. Opportunities beyond Aperol

6. Execution is everything

Discover the Spritz Surge

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