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Vodka Brand Champion 2018: Prestige
Prestige vodka is back in the million-case selling territory
If The Brand Champions had an award for ‘comeback king’, it would more than likely go to Stock Spirits’ Prestige vodka brand. The 2018 Vodka Brand Champion has made an impressive return to pass the million-case mark after two years sitting tantalisingly close to the threshold, growing its volume sales by 54.4% last year. Its huge leap in sales means the brand is not only back in million-case selling territory, but is vastly outselling its 1.1m cases reported five years ago.
Richard Hayes, group sales and marketing director at Stock Spirits, says: “Prestige’s growth has been driven by sustained, consistent awareness and trial-building. This is converting an increasing number of consumers who have ever tried the brand into regular drinkers overtime. Its appealing packaging design and exceptionally smooth high-quality liquid, coupled with its premium international positioning, have strong appeal to the growing number of Polish drinkers who are prepared to pay more for superior quality as their disposable incomes rise with economic recovery.
“Significant work on improving on and off-shelf positioning of the brand at the point of purchase, pack-size range availability, combined with incremental trial through limited edition activation at seasonal peaks all contributed to growth.”
These initiatives were also bolstered by stabilisation in the Polish market. A 15% excise tax increase that was introduced in 2014 heavily affected Stock Spirits’ sales in previous years. The group has worked hard to implement strategic investment, realign its products’ prices in the market and conduct additional operational initiatives – and its endeavours appear to be paying off. To continue the brand’s success in Poland over the coming year, Hayes says that Prestige’s focus will be “to ensure that our price positioning remains competitive compared with the other major players”.
Overall, the vodka category experienced marginal volume growth of 0.2% in 2017, according to Euromonitor. Though volumes may be growing relatively slowly, value sales are rising much quicker – up from US$64.61bn in 2016 to US$67.49bn in 2017 – suggesting continued premiumisation throughout the category.
Looking across the rest of the Brand Champions vodka table, and notable gains were made by Smirnoff (2%) and Absolut (2.7%) last year, with both brands returning to growth after declining or stagnant sales in 2016.
Last year’s Vodka Brand Champion, Heaven Hill’s Deep Eddy, reported strong double-digit growth again in 2017, but ultra-premium brands Cîroc and Grey Goose both experienced double-digit declines.
*The Brand Champions data is listed to one decimal place for ease of reading, but the percentage changes are based on the full data supplied. All brand data is supplied in millions of nine-litre cases.
Vodka (figures: million 9l case sales)
BRAND | OWNER | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | %+/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Smirnoff | Diageo | 26.1 | 25.6 | 25.8 | 25.5 | 26.0 | 2.0% |
Absolut | Pernod Ricard | 11.5 | 11.1 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.3 | 2.7% |
Khortytsa | Global Spirits | 6.3 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 7.9% |
Żubrówka | Roust | 4.4 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 7.9 | 11.3% |
Hlibny Dar | Bayadera Group | N/A | 6.6 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 2.9% |
Svedka | Constellation Brands | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.2% |
Pyat Ozer | Alcohol Siberian Group | 6.3 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 1.9% |
Skyy | Gruppo Campari | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | -2.1% |
Morosha | Global Spirits | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 9.8% |
Magic Moments | Radico Khaitan | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.0% |
Krupnik | Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.7 | -15.9% |
Stolichnaya | SPI Group | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.8% |
Soplica | Roust | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 12.9% |
Grey Goose | Bacardi | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | -13.3% |
Russian Standard | Roust | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.0% |
Belenkaya | Synergy | 6.1 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.4 | -8.7% |
Medoff | Eastern Beverage Co | N/A | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 7.3% |
Finlandia | Brown-Forman | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0% |
Burnett’s | Heaven Hill Brands | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | -1.1% |
Žołądkowa Czysta De Luxe | Stock Spirits Group | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.6 | -26.1% |
Pinnacle | Beam Suntory | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.5 | -4.1% |
Ketel One | Diageo | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.0% |
Green Mark | Roust | 5.8 | 4.2 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 0.0% |
Gosudarev Zakaz | Synergy | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.2 | -8.4% |
Cîroc | Diageo | 2.2 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.0 | -16.7% |
Żytniówka | Roust | 0.8 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 5.6% |
Sobieski | Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | -5.3% |
Talka | Roust | 2.8 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 12.5% |
Bulbash | Bulbash | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 9.7% |
Wyborowa | Pernod Ricard | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.6 | -5.9% |
Eristoff | Bacardi | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | -4.8% |
Khaoma | Asia Waters | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 4.7% |
Poliakov | La Martiniquaise | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.1% |
Gorbatschow | Henkell | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.6% |
Prestige | Stock Spirits Group | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 54.4% |
Kozatska Rada | Bayadera Group | N/A | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.0% |
Tsarskaya/Imperial Collection Gold | Ladoga | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 14.9% |
Deep Eddy | Heaven Hill Brands | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 15.0% |
Pervak | Global Spirits | N/A | N/A | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0% |
Orloff | Pernod Ricard | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0% |