British bar sales show the Hugo elderflower cocktail nearly tripled in the three months to the end of June, closing in on market leader Aperol as the summer's favourite drink. The vibrant red Campari spritz saw a 52% surge in demand, while a limoncello version also grew, with sales up 31%, according to payments company Square.
Elderflower liqueur booming
Steve Young, business unit director for Bacardi in the UK, said the Hugo "has absolutely blown up" and agreed it could be the drink of summer. Young noted that sales of St-Germain, the group's elderflower liqueur that is the drink's signature ingredient, are growing faster in the UK than anywhere else, "outselling some of our major spritz competitors across a lot of our customers. It has doubled in size over the last 12 months."
Created in Italy and very popular in France, the Hugo is sweeter than an Aperol spritz, made with elderflower liqueur, prosecco, soda water and mint.
Spritz sales data
Spritz sales data from bar, cafe and restaurant till receipts showed a 196% uplift for the Hugo in Great Britain in the three months to the end of June compared with a year ago. For the same period, Aperol spritz sales climbed 13%.
The trend is driven partly by the rise of the "daycap" – a longer, lighter-tasting drink in the late afternoon replacing the traditional nightcap. This coincides with a shift in drinking patterns as late-afternoon drinking has become popular with millennials and gen Z.
Gen Z driving growth
Gen Z (ages 18-29) has been especially influential, making the spritz the number one cocktail for this age group despite ranking sixth overall, according to Bacardi's annual cocktail trends report. The popularity has expanded bar menus, benefiting Campari, which owns brands suitable for colourful, Instagram-friendly spritzes.
In the UK, sales of Campari's aperitif brands – including Aperol, Campari, Sarti Rosa and non-alcoholic Crodino – rose more than 10% in the first six months of this year. The hot pink Sarti spritz, with notes of "blood orange, mango and passion fruit", is tipped as the next big thing, with Google searches up 341% on 2025.
"The spritz has taken the UK by storm," said Young. "Two years ago it did not make the top 10 in our annual survey and now it is the number one choice for gen-Zers."
Home consumption rising
Supermarket and high street sales data indicate spritzes are also being enjoyed at home. Tom Oakton, analyst at NielsenIQ, said "Spritzes are having their moment this summer," with sales growing much faster than the alcohol market overall. "Aperol remains the most popular, but St-Germain saw triple-digit growth from the rising popularity of the Hugo spritz," Oakton added. In the 12 weeks to 1 August, Aperol sales were up 32.4% by value – boosted by the launch of Aperol-in-a-tin – while St-Germain grew 135.5%.
Francesca Parker-Partridge, spirits buyer at Ocado Retail, confirmed spritzes are "dominating this summer's drink scene. Total liqueur sales are up 19% year on year, driven by a massive 122% spike for St-Germain."
Aperol still leads
Despite the Hugo's rise, Aperol remains the market leader. Industry data suggests about eight Aperols are sold for every St-Germain mixed Hugo. Francesco Cruciani, managing director of Campari Group UK, said, "It's great to see new brands joining the space and growing the category, but scale tells the real story, with 8.8m cases sold globally last year alone." He added, "The Campari group remains the undisputed trailblazer leading the spritz movement into its next era."
