Portman Group gets drinks industry’s ‘house in order’

Management consultancy PIPC has carried out an extensive study of 485 drinks against the Portman Group’s mandatory code of practice on the naming, packaging and promotion of alcoholic drinks, to consider if they might breach the code.

The majority of drinks were considered to be in compliance with the code, but the packaging of 32 were called into question.

A total of 21 of the brands volunteered to change their marketing in line with the code, but a further 11 companies challenges the findings of the audit.

The Independent Complaints Panel has since decided that eight of the brands can continue to be marketed in their present form, and only one has been removed from shelves.

Products cleared by the panel include: Skull Splitter from Sinclair Breweries and Punk IPA from BrewDog.

Portman Group chief executive David Poley said that the group has gone to great lengths to ensure that the “industry’s house is in order”.

“No company should be promoting potentially harmful behaviour and every producer must stand ready to justify its marketing.”

The Portman Code covers a drink’s name, packaging and promotional material.

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