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Top 10
The eight best-selling local spirits brands
After two years of restricted travel, it’s probably no surprise that consumers have been expanding their drinking horizons over the last 12 months – but how has it been reflected in the global sales?
The baijiu, raki, and pisco categories have all seen an uplift in sales over the last year, with the Local Spirits Brand Champion title going to pisco brand Mistral for 2022 for yet another year.
However, the local spirits category hasn’t been without shortfalls this year, with more than 50% of our Brand Champions actually seeing dips in sales.
Scroll below to discover the top eight best-selling local spirits brands, listed in order of their nine-litre case sales.
This list has been compiled as part of The Spirits Business‘s Brand Champions 2022 report, available to view here.
Data is listed to one decimal place for ease of reading, but the percentage changes are based on the full data supplied to The Brand Champions 2022.
8. Shui Jing Fang
2021: 1.2m
2020: 0.9m
% change: 40.2%
Place last year: N/A
A newcomer to the list, Shui Jing Fang has seen one of the biggest sales uplifts of the entire list, reporting a 40.2% increase over the last year. This has been the first year the Diageo-owned brand has featured on the Brand Champions list after surpassing one million cases for the first time.
7. Yeni
2021: 2.3m
2020: 2.1m
% change: 9.1%
Place last year: 6
The Diageo-owned raki brand has moved down the table this year, despite recording its first positive sales figures in five years, and being only one of three brands on our list to see positive growth over the last 12 months.
6. Mistral
2021: 2.3m
2020: 1.6m
% change: 45.1%
Place last year: 8
The Chilean brand recorded enormous growth last year – 45.1% – to surpass two million cases, which is just one of the contributing factors towards it being crowned our Local Spirits Brand Champion 2022.
Mistral, owned by Compañia Pisquera de Chile, is made from Pedro Ximénez and Muscat of Alexandria grapes, and aged in American oak barrels.
5. Kanoka
2021: 3.4m
2020: 3.6m
% change: -5.6%
Place last year: 6
Despite a 5.6% fall in sales this year, Asahi Breweries’ shōchū Kanoka has risen to fifth place on the list of best-selling local spirits.
The brand offers several expressions, including a sweet potato shōchū, a rice shōchū and a barley shōchū.
4. Ypióca
2021: 3.6m
2020: 4.2m
% change: -14.3%
Place last year: 5
2021 wasn’t the year for this Diageo-owned cachaça. Ypióca saw volumes tumble by 14.3% to 3.6m cases sold, a disappointing result for a category which is starting to pick up on the global market. It has, however, risen one place in our best-sellers list.
3. Iichiko
2021: 6.7m
2020: 7.1m
% change: -5.8%
Place last year: 3
Despite staying firm in third position in the best-sellers list, the sales increase seen by shōchū Iichiko in 2020 sadly wasn’t replicated in 2021, with the barley-made spirit falling from 7.1m case sales down to 6.7m in the last 12 months.
2. Chum Churum
2021: 19m
2020: 19.9m
% change: -4.4%
Place last year: 2
2020’s newcomer Chum Churum saw a second year dip in sales in 2021, though the decline wasn’t as drastic as its previous year’s figures.
At 16.5% ABV, the Korean soju is made from rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes and tapioca, and brand saw a 4.4% decline to 19m case sales.
1. Jinro
2021: 94.5m
2020: 95.3m
% change: -0.8%
Place last year: 1
The Korean brand, which accredits its success to the rising popularity of K-pop and Korean films, is still posting eye-watering figures, but for the first time in five years the world’s biggest spirit brand, and last year’s Local Spirits Brand Champion Korean soju Jinro, recorded its first sales decline, down from 95.3m to 94.5m cases, in 2021.
It will take far more than a 0.8% dip in sales to knock this brand from the top spot, though.
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