Zwack Unicum: 5% Increase in Annual Sales

Total gross sales of Zwack Unicum Plc., the biggest player in Hungary’s spirit market,  were HUF 38,788 million in the 2024-25 business year – a year-on-year increase of HUF 1,850 million (5.0%). The total gross sales include revenues from the deposit-refund system (DRS), which was introduced in Hungary on January 2024. During the 2024–2025 business year they amounted to HUF 456 million. Net sales (that is, sales revenues minus excise tax and revenue from the DRS deposit fee) were HUF 24,057 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.9% (HUF 1 561 million).

In its annual financial report, the company says the net domestic sales of products had a year-on-year increase of HUF 1,096 million (5.7%). Net sales of own-produced goods in the domestic market had a year-on-year increase of HUF 1062 million (7.6%) (HUF 15,110 million instead of HUF 14,048 million). Broken down in more detail, sales of premium products increased by 10.4% while the sales of quality products levelled off. Within the premium category, the sale of products belonging to the Unicum brand and to the Kalumba brand went up steeper than the average growth. The Unicum Orange Bitter, which is the most recent member of the Unicum family, was introduced during the third quarter of the business year but only in the on-trade channel. In addition, the company debuted with Unicum Trezor XO, a limited edition, luxury category version of the Unicum herbal liqueur. Interest in that latter product was so intensive that it only took a few days to sell out the assigned stock for the entire year.

Net sales of traded products had a year-on-year increase of 0.7%. Broken down in more detail, the revenue of the Diageo portfolio increased by 1.9% while the revenues of the other traded products decreased by 7.8%. In the latter category the revenues of wines and mineral water also decreased.

The half-a-year grace period of the deposit-return system (DRS), which was introduced in Hungary in January 2024, expired on June 30. During the first quarter of the business year the company managed to switch almost entirely to the production of the newly labelled products that carry the requisite 'HUF 50' logo for returnable bottles. That is why the introduction of the DRS system had little influence on the size of the turnover during the business year.

Following a stagnating first half of the business year, the company finished the 2024 calendar year with a successful Christmas season. However, in the fourth quarter of the business year the sales took a sharp downward turn. In that period the volume of products sold in Hungary decreased by over 17% and fell by nearly 14% in value. The decrease was felt more or less to the same degree in both the retail and wholesale channels. The decrease is due, in the first place, to the fact that in 2025 a considerable part of our Easter-season sales occurred in April – in the 2025–2026 business year – while in the previous year, they tended to occur in March.

Furthermore, the country-wide slack in consumption in the January-March 2025 period – which was in part caused by a higher-than-expected inflation – had a tangible effect also on our Company’s sales figures. Effective as of 1 January 2025, the company raised its prices on average by 4.7%. The move was due to a hike of 4.1% in excise tax and increase in the prices of raw materials and other goods – due largely to the expected weakening of the local currency – the company has to procure as well as higher costs of operation.

During the 2024–2025 business year, the company’s sales revenue in retail was roughly identical with that of the previous business year but sales in the wholesale channel decreased considerably. Taking a closer look at the retail sector: the discount channel continued growing. In fact, that was the only channel where the volume of products sold continued a slight growth during the fourth quarter.