The world’s best-selling speciality spirits brands

The continuing popularity of bitter flavours has meant a number of speciality spirits brands experienced a successful year in 2014, however the cachaça and anis categories did not fare so well.

The speciality spirits category experienced a mixed bag of fortunes in 2014

A large number of bitters producers reported steady single-digit growth in the year, with the exception of Jägermeister and Amaro Ramazzotti.

In particular Gruppo Campari’s Aperol continued its success streak, boosted by high profile international campaigns promoting its signature Aperol Spritz serve – prompting us to name the brand Specialities Brand Champion 2015.

The two anis brands which sell more than one million cases annually experienced a markedly different year, posting stagnant or rapidly declining figures.

The same is true of the world’s leading cachaça brands, which failed to deviate from the category’s path of decline.

Following the results of Brand Champions 2015 – our pick of those brands selling over one million cases annually and boasting exceptional success within their categories – we run through the world’s best-selling speciality spirits brands available on the market today, looking at bitters, anis and cachaça.

Click through the following pages to discover the top nine best-selling speciality spirits brands, listed in order of their nine-litre case sales.

9. Pastis 51

2014: 1.0m

2013: 1.2m

% change: -12%

Pernod Ricard’s Pastis 51 anis brand saw a considerable 12% volume decline in 2014 – a drop of almost 25% compared to 2011. Only just making our Specialities Brand Champions list with 1m case sales, the brand has reported faltering sales in its domestic market, France, where the majority of its volumes are consumed.

8. Amaro Ramazzotti

2014: 1.2m

2013: 1.3m

% change: -12%

Also owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard, and also with plummeting sales of 12%, Amaro Ramazzotti is an Italian digestif in the bitters category. More than 30 different aromatic plants and fruits are used in the creation of this spirit, which shed 100,000 from its volumes last year.

7. Aperol

2014: 2.7m

2013: 2.5m

% change: +6%

Bitters brand Aperol, owned by Italian drinks group Gruppo Campari, may not be the biggest specialty spirits brand, but last year it was certainly the fastest growing, prompting The Spirits Business to name it Specialities Brand Champion 2015. The brand, which grew 6% in 2014 to 2.7m cases, has undoubtedly benefited from the trend for bitter flavours, with its signature Aperol Spritz serve growing in popularity around the world.

6. Campari

2014: 3.1m

2013: 3.0m

% change: +5%

Another speciality spirits brand which witnessed healthy growth in 2014 was Aperol’s stablemate Campari, which increased sales by 5%. Also capitalising on the popularity of bitter classic and modern cocktails, Campari has managed to further expand its presence outside of Italy and into the international markets.

5. Ricard

2014: 4.8m

2013: 4.8m

% change: -1%

Pernod Ricard’s second anis brand, Ricard, witnessed something of a change of fortune in 2014, when sales fell flat. In 2013, the brand reported a colossal 23% leap sales leap after recovering from an excise hike in its domestic French market – where it is the best-selling spirit brand. However, 2014 did not prove such a fruitful year and it seems it will be some time yet before the brand can reach its 2011 volumes of more than 6m cases.

4. Fernet Branca

2014: 5.2m

2013: 5.0m

% change: +3%

Owned by Fratelli Branca, Fernet Branca failed to match its considerable 14% sales increase of 2013, but did manage to report some modest growth. The bitter herbal liqueur, which grew by 200,000 cases last year, remains a popular digestif in its domestic Italian market.

3. Jägermeister

2014: 6.8m

2013: 7.2m

% change: -6%

Despite continuing to ramp up its marketing and distribution efforts last year, as well as the introduction of its first flavour extension, German herbal spirit brand Jägermeister reported a downturn of 6% last year. The brand struggled against “extremely aggressive” pricing by competitors and changing consumer trends in the US, which resulted in lower sales and stock adjustments. However, parent company Mast Jägermeister has pushed ahead with its ambitious marketing strategy, launching a £1m festival activation in the UK alone. It remains to be seen if Mast Jägermeister’s acquisition of its US importer Sidney Frank will improve sales in the year to come.

2. Pitù

2014: 10.6m

2013: 10.6m

% change: 0%

While cachaça may be experiencing chronic volume declines as attention moves to international spirits in its domestic Brazilian market – where some 99% of its volumes are consumed – the world’s two best-selling speciality spirits brands fall into the category. However, Pitù has managed to avoid plummeting sales, remaining steady at 10.6m cases in 2014, possibly as a result of increased exposure for Brazilian brands during the Fifa World Cup. Overall, the brand has grown by 400,000 cases over the last five years.

1. Cachaça 51

2014: 17.0m

2013: 17.6m

% change: -3%

The world’s largest speciality spirit brand is Cachaça 51, owned by Companhia Muller de Bebidas, despite its ailing volumes. While there were widespread hopes in the industry that both the Fifa World Cup in 2014 and the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, this has not been the case for the foremost cachaça brand, which declined 3% last year to 17m cases. The brand has some way to go to meet its case sales of almost 20m seen five years ago, but will be seeking to boost its international presence in the run up to the Olympic Games.