Brandy Brand Champion 2016

Brandy Brand Champion 2016: Officer’s Choice Brandy

ABD’s Officer’s Choice Brandy has entered the million case-selling brandy category for the first time

Making its debut in our Brand Champions report this year is Officer’s Choice Brandy, whose shining sales secured its position as Brandy Brand Champion 2016.

The Allied Blenders-owned spirit boosted sales by 48.3% to take it past the one million nine-litre case sale mark (1.1m). As a category that has for the most part been stuck in the shadows of its more “sophisticated” cousin Cognac, the sector has shown some strong sales performances this past year.

“One cannot deny that premiumisation is happening in all categories, including brandy,” said a spokesperson for Officer’s Choice Brandy. “There are various factors which lead to these phenomena. Factors like increasing middle class with higher spending power, more young consumers who pass over the legal drinking age etc. Hence, it is important for marketers to be relevant to the consumer’s needs and aspirations and continuously strive to meet them through products and services.

“There is a lot of competition [regional brands] in the segment with brands vying for consumer’s attention and loyalty.”

Constellation Brands’ Paul Masson Grande Amber, which was crowned Brandy Brand Champion 2015, reported strong double-digit sales for the second year in a row (15.8%) while United

Spirits’ McDowell’s No. 1 bounced back from a double-digit decline in 2015 to grow 12.2% and hit 8.6m cases.

Several brandy players had a tough time keeping sales afloat, however, particularly United Spirits’ Men’s Club Brandy which dropped 37.2% and the company’s McDowell’s No. 1 VSOP which dropped 32.6%.

Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the rest of our Brand Champions 2016