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Speciality Spirits Brand Champions 2013

SPECIALITY SPIRITS BRAND CHAMPION: FERNET BRANCA

Bartenders in the world’s leading cocktail cities have been rediscovering a fascination for classics for some time now. Menus are harking back to the Victorian era and making a virtue of traditional recipes with some even featuring authentic spirits from the 19th century.

It’s this trend that has helped Italian bitters brand Fernet Branca to grow steadily over the decades and hit 5.4m cases last year. Surpassing the likes of Campari and Aperol – popular with the masses in Italy and other Western European markets where the Spritz has seen something of a revival – Fernet Branca achieved an impressive 17% growth in 2012 in a category that has remained uninspiringly flat.

Not bad for a brand originally conceived as a medicinal cure for poor digestion and wind. Aside from its use as a traditional cocktail ingredient, Fernet Branca mixed with cola is drunk on a massive scale in Argentina, as a shot followed by a ginger ale chaser in San Francisco, and apparently with Red Bull in Germany.

Still leading the herbal front is Jägermeister with 6.9 million cases, led by the US, UK, Spain, Czech Republic and Russia with double-digit growth rates in some areas.

Toward the end of 2012 the brand launched a campaign to promote Jägermeister’s core serve as a chilled shot, while two RTDs were launched in Australia and New Zealand.

Meanwhile Pernod Ricard’s anis brands Ricard and Pastis 51 delivered alternative fortunes, with sales of the former dropping by 700,000 cases and the latter gaining 300,000. Cachaça brand Pirassununga 51 continues to deliver huge volumes in its native Brazilian stomping ground, despite a slight drop in volume.

Tatuzinho’s Velho Barreiro took second place in the cachaça stakes, but without a clear figure for 2011’s volume sales it’s unclear whether Diageo’s new cachaça brand Ypioca has risen or fallen. However with the World Cup in Brazil next year, it’s likely the world’s largest spirits company will establish its routes to market and support its position with an expensive
marketing campaign.

 

SPECIALITIES – BITTERS
BRAND OWNER 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 +/- % +/-
Jägermeiste Mast-Jägermeister 6.4 6.4 6.6 6.8 6.9 1%
Fernet Branca Fratelli Branca 3.3 3.4 3.9 4.6 5.4 17%
Campari Gruppo Campari 2.9 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.9 0%
Aperol Gruppo Campari 1.3 1.7 1.9 2.6 2.6 0%
Ramazzotti Pernod Ricard 1.22 1 1.23 1.22  –  –

 

SPECIALITIES – ANIS
BRAND OWNER 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 % +/-
Ricard Pernod Ricard 5.5 5.4 5.4 6.2 3.9 -37%
Pastis 51 Pernod Ricard 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 21%

 

SPECIALITIES – CACHACA
BRAND OWNER 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 % +/-
Pirassununga 51 Companhia Muller de Bebidas 21.9 19.5 19.5 18.6 18.5 -1%
Velho Barreiro Tatuzinho 7.4 7.7 8 8.4 9.2 10%
Ypioca Diageo 7 6.8 6.9  – 6.5  –

 

SEE OTHER CATEGORIES
GIN COGNAC / BRANDY LIQUEURS
SCOTCH WHISKY WORLD WHISKIES RUM
TEQUILA VODKA INDIAN WHISKY
SPECIALITIES

 

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