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Top 10 fastest-growing spirits brands

While some vodka brands are bucking the downward trend affecting the category, Indian whiskies are rising at speed – but which million-case spirits brand grew the fastest?

SB rounds up the fastest-growing spirits brands of 2018

From bar openings and distillery launches, to new product developments and executive reshuffles, the spirits industry has never been one to stand still for long.

Being part of such a quick­-paced environment means timing and execution are crucial to ensure goals are met, or indeed, surpassed. Last year, there were 43 million­-case brands that recorded double-­digit growth, an impressive increase compared to the 34 in 2017.

Looking at the spirit sectors represented in the fastest­-growing collective, some vodka brands continue to make impressive leaps despite the overall category’s current slump. Roust’s Talka was the fourth fastest­-growing million­-case spirit in 2018, and Kozatska Rada and Pervak also enjoyed strong, double­-digit gains.

Unsurprisingly, Indian whisky continued to perform well, with Alcobrew’s White & Blue comfortably surpassing the 2m-­case mark with a 31.9% spike in sales.

Click through the following pages to discover the world’s top 10 fastest-growing spirits brands, listed in order of rising percentage.

The list has been compiled as part of The Spirits Business‘s Brand Champions report, which is available to view here. As such, it includes only brands that sell more than one million nine-litre cases annually.

10. Pervak

2018: 1.5m

2017: 1.3m

% change: 21.6%

Produced by Global Spirits, Pervak vodka jumped an impressive 20% to 1.2m cases in 2018.

Global Spirits, which also produces Khortytsa vodka, Leaf organic vodka and Odessa VSOP brandy, revamped its US team at the end of 2016 following growth in the market.

The company witnessed triple-digit growth in 2017/18 and continues to gain “significant distribution” throughout the North American market.

9. Don Julio

2018: 1.5m

2017: 1.2m

% change: 21.6%

Last year’s Tequila Brand Champion, Don Julio, delivered the category’s highest growth rate of 21.6% to reach 1.5m nine-­litre cases.

In July 2018, the Diageo-owned Tequila launched its first innovation in six years – a reposado Tequila finished in casks previously used to aged Scotch whisky for the Buchanan’s blend.

In Diageo’s six months to 31 December 2018 financial results, Don Julio led the the growth of the firm’s Reserve portfolio, growing by “strong double digits”. The brand performed particularly well in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean.

8. Aperol

2018: 4.9m

2017: 4.0m

% change: 22.5%

The only speciality spirit to make our list was Campari-owned apéritif Aperol, which grew 22.5% to 4.9m. The brand, which was last year’s Speciality Spirits Brand Champion, is edging ever closer to breaking the 5m-case-mark for the first time.

According to Campari Group’s 2018 full-year sales, Aperol’s performance was driven by “continued solid growth” in its core markets – Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland – and “strong double-digit growth” in high potential and seeding markets including the US, the UK, Spain, France, global travel retail (GTR), Australia, Eastern European and Scandinavian markets, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

Earlier this year, Aperol launched a new global campaign and brand platform, called Together We Joy, which could lead to further growth in 2019.

7. Royal Challenge

2018: 5.6m

2017: 4.5m

% change: 22.7%

Produced by Diageo’s Indian arm United Spirits, Royal Challenge whisky surpassed the 5m-case mark for the first time in five years with a 22.7% increase.

According to United Spirits’ financial results for the year ending 31 March 2019, in the ‘prestige’ segment, Royal Challenge Indian whisky grew faster than the overall segment. In the first half of 2018, Royal Challenge continued to deliver “strong growth”.

Earlier this year, United Spirits sold its Bangalore-based wine division Four Seasons Wines in a bid to grow the firm’s core spirits business in India.

6. Kozatska Rada

2018: 1.5m

2017: 1.2m

% change: 25.0%

Bayadera Group’s Kozatska Rada vodka witnessed a strong 25% increase to 1.5m cases last year – the brand’s largest increase in five years.

During 2018, Bayadera unveiled a new “clear and effective” bottle design for Kozatska Rada to emphasise the brand’s Cossack heritage and premium cues.

At the end of 2018, Ukraine-based Bayadera Group increased sales in the import segment by 17%. Last year, the company began exporting to new markets including Canada and Norway.

5. Gordon’s

2018: 6.5m

2017: 5.1m

% change: 26.7%

This year’s Supreme Brand Champion reported a remarkable 26.7% volume growth in 2018, as years of rebranding, marketing initiatives and well­-thought-­out product developments paid off.

Gordon’s, the world’s best-selling gin, shifted 6.5m nine-­litre cases last year. In 2016, the brand joined the pink gin trend with the launch of Gordon’s Pink, which sold 1.21m cases in less than two years.

4. Talka

2018: 2.3m

2017: 1.8m

% change: 27.8%

The wider vodka category is starting to show glimpses of stability, as a number of brands recover from the social, economic and political hurdles in recent years.

Roust-owned vodka brand Talka witnessed the highest increase across the vodka category, soaring by 27.8% to 2.3m. The brand hit the 2m-case mark once again after last reaching it in 2014 when Talka recorded 2.8m cases.

3. White & Blue

2018: 2.1m

2017: 1.6m

% change: 31.9%

White & Blue, produced by Indian whisky producer Alcobrew, surpassed the 2m-cask-mark with a 31.8% spike in sales.

Alcobrew is on an expansion spree over the next two years with plans to set up a new manufacturing plant in Himachal Pradesh, India. According to reports at the end of last year, Alcobrew hopes to launch an initial public offering (IPO) after 2021 when it is hoping to have doubled its sales revenue to Rs 10 billion (US$134.4m).

2. Bangalore Malt Whisky

2018: 5.2m

2017: 3.6m

% change: 44.3%

Bangalore Malt Whisky from John Distilleries slipped from the top spot after two years into second place.

The brand’s staggering 69.8% growth enjoyed in 2017 could not be sustained for another year, but the Indian whisky did deliver impressive gains in 2018, growing by 44.3% to 5.2m cases.

In October 2017, US-­based Sazerac bought an equity stake in John Distilleries for an undisclosed sum.

1. Božkov

2018: 1.7m

2017: 1.1m

% change: 49.3%

Topping the fastest­-growing leader board this year was the only rum to feature in the top 10 fastest­-growing brands: Božkov.

Owned by Stock Spirits Group, the Czech rum has grown volumes from 0.9m cases in 2014 to 1.7m four years later, reporting an impressive 49.3% sales surge in 2018 – the year it also launched Božkov Republica.

According to Stock Spirits, the brand’s “strong” growth was achieved through “compelling advertising support” and new line extensions including its premium offering Republica, which “competes in the premium rum segment”.

The brand has been gaining popularity in its native Czech Republic for a while and in November, Božkov was voted the “most trusted alcohol brand” in the country for a third time, as part of the Atoz Marketing Services’ Trusted Brands programme.

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