Top 10 fastest growing spirits brands

Despite reports the entire spirits industry experienced a dramatic slowdown in 2013, some brands steamed ahead of the competition to post monumental growth.

These are the world’s 10 fastest growing spirits brands driving growth in the industry

Upon announcing our recent Brand Champions – where category heroes among the million-case selling brands where bestowed due plaudits – we discovered which brands, across all regions and categories, achieved the fastest rate of growth last year.

Brands in categories spanning brandy, Scotch, vodka, and liqueurs showed that they have the potential to battle against a challenging market and thrive.

However, the category which appears most frequently on this list is Indian whisky, a segment which has some of the greatest volumes in the spirits industry.

And despite a slowdown in the consumption of local brands, some Indian whisky companies have sold even greater volumes at even quicker rates.

But, against stiff competition and a rapidly declining spirits market, which brand achieved the fastest rate of growth in 2013?

Click through the following pages to see the world’s 10 fastest growing spirits brands.

10. Ricard

Pernod Ricard’s eponymous anis brand Ricard is one of the spirits success stories of 2013. Following a significant 11% downturn in 2012, the brand – which is the number one spirit in France – reported a 23% sales in increase in 2013 to 4.8 million cases. Pernod Ricard claimed that this success could be attributed to a sustained “on the ground” sales push, “bold” advertising campaigns, innovative promotional deals and a new “major” digital strategy.

9. Clan Campbell

Blended Scotch whisky brand Clan Campbell, owned by French drinks group Pernod Ricard, experienced the most growth in the million case Scotch category in 2013 by-far, increasing sales by 23% to 1.6 million cases. While the rest of the category either stood stagnant or experienced marginal growth – the result of a tempestuous year for Scotch where overall sales grew by only 3% – Clan Campbell has managed to remain in strong favour in the coveted Latin American region and the quickly recovering French market.

8. Imperial Blue

Pernod Ricard’s Imperial Blue grew sales by 24% to 10.9 million cases in 2013. However, questions of the longevity of this success remain as the entire Indian whisky market hangs in the balance if the country’s new parliament votes to reduce its 150% import tariff for Scotch. If aspirational western brands flood in to tempt the young status-seeking middle classes, local whisky brands could soon lose their market dominance.

7. Royal Challenge

Another Indian whisky brand to feature on this list is United Spirits-owned Royal Challenge, which grew sales by 24% in 2013 to 2.1 million cases. During the year, the brand experienced greater growth than five years previous, where slight increases and decreases were experienced. Royal Challenge was once identified as one of “India’s most wanted” acquisitions when United Spirits owner Vijay Mallya claimed the group was willing to pay US$42 million for Shaw Wallace’s leading brands Royal Challenge, Director’s Special and Hayward’s Fine in the late 1990s.

6. Lubelska

Stock Spirits-owned flavoured liqueur brand Lubelska grew by an astonishing 27% in 2013, having enjoyed huge regional growth in its native Poland. Its success, according to Richard Hayes, group sales and marketing director of Stock Spirits, is down to “trend setting in flavour innovation, and developing a fun, contemporary range of flavours”. Bottled at an average abv of 36%, the existing range of flavours include Miętówka (mint and lime), grapefruit, blackcurrant, lemon, cherry, cranberry and honey.

5. Hayward’s Fine

Indian whisky is one of the biggest spirits categories in the world, and, as such, one of the most competitive. But, against stiff competition in an industry with huge volumes, United Spirits-owned Haywards Fine grew sales by 30% to 9.1 million cases in 2013. The brand saw steady growth between 2009 and 2012, but sales soared by more than two million cases in 2013. It remains to be seen whether the brand might experience even greater success as Diageo’s takeover of United Spirits progresses, or whether prices will increase and deter consumers.

4. Officer’s Choice

Indian whisky continues to be one of the fastest-growing spirit categories in the world, with category leader Officer’s Choice increasing its sales by a whopping 31% to 23.8 million cases in 2013. The achievement of Allied Blenders’ & Distillers’ (ABD) brand is partly down to the group’s diversification strategy – that is, the launch of two premium brand extensions – Officer’s Choice Blue in 2012, and Officer’s Choice Black this January.

3. Prestige

Stock Prestige vodka became Stock Spirits’ sixth “millionaire” brand selling over one million nine-litre cases in 2013, joining Lubelska, Bozkov, 1906, Zoladkowa Gorzka Crysta de Luxe and Zoladkowa Gorzka. The vodka brand, distributed mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, grew by 38% in the year to 1.1 million cases. Six-times distilled and chill-filtered, Stock Prestige is also available in Cranberry, Lemon and Grapefruit flavours.

2. Soplica

Russian Standard’s takeover of Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC) last summer certainly didn’t harm sales of the Eastern European spirits producer’s Polish vodka brand Soplica, which increased its sales by a massive 43% in 2013. Usually a takeover results in some stunted sales, as disruption is caused to distribution networks, but Soplica in fact thrived. This surge in sales also represented doubled growth on 2011, increasing sales from one million cases to two million cases in 2013.

1. Men’s Club

Men’s Club Brandy, introduced in India in 2011, slowly built up its presence over two years to stand at 200,000 cases in 2012. But owner United Spirits’ merger of the brand with fellow brandy Golden Grape rocketed sales under the Men’s Club brand by 1,300%. “The growth of Men’s Club is specific to one of the states in South India (Tamil Nadu) where we de-emphasised one of our brands – Golden Grape Brandy – and introduced Men’s Club Brandy,” said United Spirits’ Suresh Menon. “The sales of Men’s Club is in effect a combination of the volumes sold by the two brands individually and an extraordinary growth driven by favourable consumer response.”