The great Guinness Shortage of 2024 explained
Rationing beer in 2024
Two weeks ago, I was on WhatsApp, lazily chatting with a friend from my London days, Alan. Alan’s tipple of choice had always been Guinness - but the night before, he had not been able to find a pint of the black stuff in any of his local pubs.
Not because they were closed. Not because their tap was broken. But because they've hit their weekly ration limit. I could hear the outraged howls right across the Atlantic Ocean. In a country where Guinness pours an estimated 1.8 billion pints annually, this was unthinkable.
And yes, you read that right. Ration limits. In 2024, one of the world's oldest beer brands, Guinness, is facing a crisis of abundance—they literally can't make enough of the stuff.
How did that happen? We can blame, at least in part, Kim Kardashian (always fun of course). An unexpected collision between old-world craftsmanship and new-world influence is now at the root of causing Guinness shortages all over the UK.
The Kardashian Effect
Last March, a single social media post started this ball rolling. Kim K, sipping a perfectly poured pint of Guinness in a London pub on St. Patrick's Day, lit a fuse. The post ricocheted across social platforms for weeks, helping to transform the 265-year-old brand's image almost overnight.
UK sales among women have surged 24% in 2024. Gen Z—the very same generation that’s supposedly killing the alcohol industry—can't get enough of the black stuff. (I am far from GenZ but I must admit liking Guinness myself).
The Perfect Storm
But Kim's post was just the match. The kindling was already there:
The "Splitting the G" challenge was already popular on TikTok, turning every pint into a potential viral moment (look it up, it’s actual fun)
Post-pandemic pub-goers craved authentic experiences that couldn't be replicated at home
Rugby internationals drove demand through the roof
The Christmas season added even more pressure
The Crisis
Diageo's Dublin brewery is running at 100% capacity and still can't keep up. Pubs across Britain are being limited to just 25% of their usual orders.
The Bigger Picture
But this is more than a story about beer shortages. Guiness has always been good when it comes to brand revival and staying relevant with new markets. While most legacy alcohol brands are pushing boulders uphill, Guinness has cracked the code by:
Embracing authentic influence over forced advertising
Letting younger audiences discover and redefine the brand - and this is essential, they embrace change rather than resist it
Maintaining quality while gaining cultural currency
The Leadership Lesson
If you’re running a food brand, remember that speaking your audience's language is more than marketing—it's survival.
Legacy brands that resist evolution risk irrelevance. Those that embrace it, while staying true to their core values, can find themselves at the center of cultural moments they never could have engineered.
Your Next Step
Ask yourself: Is your brand speaking the language of tomorrow's consumers? Are you resisting change in the name of tradition, or embracing evolution while maintaining your essence?
Because in today's market, there are two types of legacy brands: those that adapt and those that disappear. Guinness just showed us which path leads to success—even if that success comes with growing pains.
This week's action item: Identify one traditional aspect of your brand that could be reframed for a younger audience. How might you let them discover it on their own terms?