It is a title that has been hard fought for the past eight years, and after a brief stint in the County Armagh town of Markethill for 2022, the Top of the Pops crown returned to East Antrim for the 2023 season.
The title in question is the town that purchases the highest number of bottles of Shloer during one particular week of the year.
In 2022, shoppers in the County Armagh village of Markethill were crowned the biggest fans of the festive fizz after years of Co. Antrim towns from Ballymena to Ballymoney being named number one
Now, as the 12 Deals of Christmas Shloer week approaches, SPAR NI has revealed that in 2023, Cullybackey was the town to purchase the most Shloer, just pipping Markethill to the post.
Sara Murphy from SPAR NI says it’s the most competitive week of the year for their retailers, with a big logistical operation taking place to ensure the stores have enough bottles to satisfy the appetite of their locals.
Sara Murphy from SPAR NI says shoppers in County Antrim were the biggest lovers of Shloer in Northern Ireland in 2023.
Sara says:
“Shloer Week is part of our hugely popular 12 Deals of Christmas campaign, and it is a big week for our retailers! They go all out with many dressing up in festive clothing for the week and some make incredible displays in store, we’ve even had some impressive Christmas trees made out of Shloer bottles!.
“Logistically, we have even more pallets of Shloer heading across the country to keep our shoppers happy, as last year almost one million bottles were purchased, such is the demand!”
EUROSPAR Cullybackey shoppers bagged up 11,849 bottles of Shloer last year, while J.D. Hunter & Co. Supermarket in Markethill saw 11,750 bottles being snapped up.
Alongside Cullybackey, shoppers at SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Portglenone, Ballymoney and Broughshane bought an additional 26,274 bottles making County Antrim the NI County with the highest volume of Shloer purchases in one week.
For one week only (14th – 20th October), Shloer 750ml bottles drop to just £1 across over 500 SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO branded stores in Northern Ireland as part of the 12 Deals of Christmas campaign.
Sara continued:
“The 12 Deals of Christmas campaign continues with our commitment to providing value on the doorsteps of the communities within which our stores operate, and our 2024 Deals bring even more savings than ever before.”
For more on SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO’s 12 Deals of Christmas campaign for 2024, visit spar-ni.co.uk.