1800 Tequila is world’s fastest-growing spirit

Brand Finance has named 1800 Tequila as the world’s fastest-growing spirit after it more than doubled in value last year.

Research consultant Brand Finance has released Brand Finance Spirits 50, its annual ranking of the world’s most valuable spirits, as well as revealing the top 10 strongest spirits brands.

Tequila brand 1800 saw its brand value increase by 111.5% to US$424 million, the report noted.

It was followed by last year’s fastest-growing spirit, Diageo-owned Casamigos Tequila, which reported a brand value increase of 108.5% to US$934m.

Since it was founded in 2013 by George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman, Casamigos has seen ‘significant growth’ using a word-of-mouth strategy, Brand Finance noted.

Organic net sales for the brand soared by 90% in 2022.

The report said Casamigos’ growth was due to ‘improved market share, highlighting brand quality, authenticity, and innovation’.

Henry Farr, associate director at Brand Finance, said: “The Tequila sector has really grown in recent years. It is outpacing other spirits, leaving Tequila brands well-positioned to capture evolving preferences of consumers, where many are opting for higher quality, premium-branded product and this is what Casamigos, especially, has done so well, given that its entire inception was based on creating a product they wanted to drink and enjoy.”

Most valuable spirit

Meanwhile, Chinese baijiu Moutai retained its position as the world’s most valuable spirit brand for the eighth year in a row. The brand’s value rose by 16% to US$49.7 billion.

In 2022, ahead of Chinese New Year, Moutai hosted its first online sale, exclusive to China-based consumers, where it auctioned some of the brand’s rarest baijiu.

Moutai was also named the world’s strongest spirit brand with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 90.8 out of 100.

Second to Moutai was Wuliangye, which saw its brand value increase by 5% to US$30.3bn. The brand’s BSI score was 89.8 out of 100. It is also the second most valuable spirit in the world.

After the pandemic, China’s baijiu brands experienced increased competition as production rates were significantly cut, the report noted. Brand Finance said baijiu players must ‘consider consumer perceptions and maintain brand equity and as a result, market share’.

Proximo Spirits-owned 1800 was named the fifth biggest-selling Tequila brand in the world, according to Brand Champions 2023 data. It sold 2.5m nine-litre cases in 2022, an increase of 22.5%.