The world’s best-selling liqueur brands

As the category continues to struggle to find its way, we round up the world’s best-selling liqueur brands in all their sweetness.

The liqueurs category had a difficult year – but which brands triumphed?

Liqueurs is arguably the category suffering most from an identity crisis. With so much variation on offer, from cream sippers to vibrant mixers, a lack of definition continues to hold the category back as the sheer breadth on offer continues to provoke consumer confusion.

While smaller brands seem to be tapping in to the global cocktail trend and disrupting the status quo – St-Germain anyone? – with a couple of exceptions, the big liqueur players are struggling to adapt to the latest drinks trends and consumer whims.

But good news could be at hand. As enthusiasm for cocktails translates into at-home mixing and consumption, there’s an opportunity for brands large and small to educate and up their market share.

Following our recently published Brand Champions 2016 – our analysis of those brands selling more than one million cases annually that are performing exceptionally within their category – we run through the world’s best-selling liqueur brands on the market today.

Click through the following pages to discover the top 10 best-selling liqueur brands, listed in order of their disclosed nine-litre case sales.

8. Cointreau

2015: 1.09m

2014: 1.12m

% change: -2.68%

Place last year: 10

This year Cointreau has ascended the leader board to claim 8th place. Owned by French drinks group Rémy Cointreau, the brand’s 2.68% dip in sales is one of the lowest declines posted from the million case-selling liqueurs. While the brand may have struggled to up its volumes, a premiumisation drive is undoubtedly in place, with limited editions, activations and brand partnerships helping push the brand to the front of consumer minds. Tying in with this, in October 2015, La Maison Cointreau partnered with actress and model Laetitia Casta to launch Cointreau Creative Crew – a “philanthropist programme” created to “develop women’s freedom and creativity around the world”. The activity is the start of a “decade or more” of activity for La Maison Cointreau – so watch this space.

7. Zoladkowa Gorzka

2015: 1.21m

2014: 1.34m

% change: -9.70%

Place last year: 9

Stock Spirits’ Zoladkowa Gorzka continued its decline in 2015, shedding an extra 130,000 cases over the course of the year and failing to stem the fallout from its 2013 turn away from growth. A leading brand on the Polish market, its volume losses fall widely in line with Stock Spirits’ change in fortunes as profits continue to be squeezed. With a refreshed board, the hope is the liqueurs portfolio will return to growth once more.

6. Lubelska

2015: 1.30m

2014: 1.75m

% change: -25.71%

Place last year: 4

Zoladkowa Gorzka’s sibling Lubelska experienced the most dramatic decline of any liqueur brand in 2015, and if the rate of decline continues the brand risks falling out of the million case-plus selling club altogether in the coming year. A former Brand Champion, Lubelska’s fall from grace has been as emphatic as it has been dramatic – the brand posted 27% volume growth in 2013. Poland is Lubelska’s primary stomping ground, which begs the question: has the market fallen out of love with liqueurs?

5. Amarula

2015: 1.30m

2014: 1.40m

% change: -7.14%

Place last year: 7

While a 7.14% loss looks challenging on paper, Distell-owned cream liqueur Amarula is perhaps merely plateauing, returning to its volume sales reported in both 2011 and 2012. The brand saw some uptick after launching Amarula Marula Gold in travel retail in 2013, with a quiet couple of years since in terms of new product development perhaps pegging back the sales. Never fear – the recently announced bottle refresh could well see Amarula volumes perk up moving through 2016.

4. Kahlúa

2015: 1.50m

2014: 1.59m

% change: -5.66%

Place last year: 6

With the coffee shop revival still in full swing and interest in coffee-flavoured cocktails continuing to pique, it may seem surprising that Pernod Ricard-owned rum-based liqueur Kahlua continues to post sales declines. The brand responded to apparent market demand by launching a Salted Caramel variant in 2015, designed to “liven up” iced coffees in the summer. So why have volumes failed to respond? Speaking at the Pernod Ricard 2015-2016 half-year media roundtable as it announced its financial results, Alexadre Ricard said: “From a prioritisation and resources point of view it is not a brand behind which we are investing.” Could the brand be up for sale? Either way, it seems unlikely its fortunes will shift in the immediate future.

3. De Kuyper

2015: 2.18m

2014: 2.25m

% change: -3.11%

Place last year: 3

Retaining its third-placed position in our liqueurs line-up is De Kuyper. While the brand’s -3.11% volume decline is a relatively shallow compared to its competitors, it has accelerated from its flat performance in 2014. Since then, the brand has undertaken a sleek rebrand, and, speaking to The Spirits Business in October 2015, new CEO Mark de Witte spelled out his “strategic roadmap” for the brand. We predict a rebound as the new approach pulls in sales.

2. Malibu

2015: 3.40m

2014: 3.43m

% change: -0.87%

Place last year: 2

Silver liqueur medallist for a second year, Pernod Ricard’s Malibu might still be in negative territory, but it has managed to put the breaks on volume declines. After posting 6% losses in 2014, the brand has steadied the ship with a focus on campaigns, communications and activations rather than line extensions underpinning the performance. Most recently, the brand unveiled its “Because Summer” initiative, spanning new TV advertisements, experiential activation, on- and off-trade support and an integrated social media campaign. With the renewed, focused approach we expect to see the brand return to growth in the near future. 

1. Baileys

2015: 6.30m

2014: 6.20m

% change: +1.61%

Place last year: 1

Our 2016 Liqueur Brand Champion, Diageo-owned Baileys outshone its sector in 2015 as the only brand in its category to post any growth at all”. The last two years have been very important for Baileys, with an ambitious global relaunch, including iconic communications, stylish new packaging and retail design, which continues to roll out worldwide,” said Rosalind Healy, global consumer marketing director for Baileys. And the mindfulness continues – since the turn of the year, the brand has unveiled two line extensions closely attuned to consumer whims: Baileys XC, a liqueur-Cognac hybrid, has launched in travel retail, while dairy-free, gluten-free Baileys Almande is set to appeal to a new wave of health-conscious imbibers. It will be intriguing to see how much extra growth the new releases and continued marketing focus, will pull in.