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Cinco de Mayo sees Tequila sales soar
Tequila sales more than doubled in bars and restaurants in the US on the Cinco de Mayo holiday from 2011-2012 with a surge in holidaymakers’ drinking margaritas is thought to be the cause, writes Amy Hopkins.
US consumers get into the holiday spirit for Cinco de Mayo
New research by GuestMetrics LLC and the Distilled Spirits Council showed that while Tequila accounted for 8% total spirits sales from 2011-2012, this figure rocketed to 18% on Cinco de Mayo.
Similarly, margarita sales figures showed that the drink accounted for 27% of total cocktail sales in 2011 and 2012, which then increased to 42% during the holiday.
The Distilled Spirits Council director of public relations, Alexandra Sklansky, said: “Consumer interest is being driven by the continued popularity of tequila cocktails as well as by the expansion of Super Premium 100% Tequilas available in the marketplace.”
According to the Distilled Spirits Council’s sales data, Tequila remains one of the fastest growing spirits categories in the US, having grown at an average rate of 5.5% a year since 2002 with 12.3 million cases of Tequila sold last year.
Bill Pecoriello, CEO of GuestMetrics, said that on last year’s Cinco de Mayo there was a 57% lift in total spirits and cocktails sales compared to 2011, which could be attributed to the holiday falling on a Saturday instead of a Thursday.
He added: “However, a comparison of total spirits and cocktails sales for the entire week of Cinco De Mayo in 2012 and 2011 shows a robust six per cent growth.
“This confirms the importance of this holiday for the Tequila category as well as for the on-premise sector of the hospitality industry.”
Cinco de Mayo is a celebration in the US and parts of Mexico, which commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely win over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862.