Report forecasts 2024’s breakthrough spirits brands

Ethical review platform Really Good Culture (RGC) has published its AI-driven The Future of Spirits report, which has predicted the brands most likely to succeed in 2024.

RGC has used AI technology to create a ‘state-of-the-art’ forecasting tool, called The Breakthrough Score.

The data tool is powered by billions of data points that combine social listening and digital graphing data with aggregated consumer review data to measure cultural and ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) impacts, and the future potential of brands.

The tool ranks every product out of 100 on how likely it is to be successful in its respective market.

The algorithms comprise three core elements: Momentum Score, which examines the year-on-year variation in search interest and social media growth; Popularity Score, which looks at the aggregated performance across one, some or all social media channels; and Consumer Review Aggregation, which explores the aggregated performance plus sentiment across all major review platforms.

The Breakthrough Score is said to ‘stand out’ against established trend-forecasting tools since it recognises that a brand’s culture extends beyond recognition and popularity.

Furthermore, it delves into the brand’s ability to resonate with consumers on ‘a deeper level’, forging strong, enduring relationships focused on transparency and ethical practices.

In addition to The Breakthrough Score, the data generates a Really Good Score (RGS), which is an aggregation of a company or product’s crowd-sourced ethicality reviews that put consumers at the heart of the story.

The scores are marked out of 10, and take into account a company or product’s sustainability, packaging, transparency, ingredients, health, and quality.

Breakthrough spirits brands

The tool has generated a list of 20 spirits brands that achieved the highest Breakthrough Scores and RGS of all products on the market.

The list includes four non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ brands: Everleaf Mountain (RGS 7.1), Botivo Batch 12 (RGS 8.6), Three Spirit Livener (RGS 8.0), and Pentire Coastal Spritz (RGS 8.2), and one ready-to-drink product – pop star Ellie Goulding’s Served Mojito (RGS 9.0).

The list also includes four whisky brands: Bruichladdich’s The Classic Laddie (RGS 7.9), Beeble Honey Whisky (RGS 7.8), Nc’nean Organic single malt (RGS 9.2), and Sweetdram blended Scotch whisky (RGS 8.2), as well as two Tequila brands: Mijenta Tequila Blanco (RGS 8.7) and El Sueño Tequila Silver (RGS 7.4).

Two Drifters Signature Rum (RGS 8.9) and Discarded Banana Peel Rum (RGS 8.6) are the two rum brands on the list, while Avallen (RGS 9.1) is the only Calvados brand.

There are three vodka brands on the list: the Isle of Wight Distillery’s Mermaid Salt Vodka (RGS 8.7), Sapling Climate Positive Vodka (RGS 8.8), and Nàdar Vodka (RGS 8.4).

Isle of Harris Gin (RGS 8.4) is one of two gin brands on the list, alongside Tarquin’s handcrafted Cornish dry gin (RGS 9.0), while Conker Distillery’s Coffee Liqueur (RGS 7.3) represents the only liqueur brand on the list.

RCG said ‘The Breakthrough Score’ represents a new dimension in industry analysis, and it is excited to see how this ‘innovative metric’ will impact future decision-making within the spirits sector.

There are 11 B Corp-certified brands on the list, and The Future of Spirits report noted that spirits brands with this accreditation achieved a higher breakthrough score by 27.3%, a higher popularity score by 27.1%, and a higher RGS by 24% on average.

The full report can be viewed at www.cdn.reallygoodculture.com/reports/the-future-of-spirits.pdf.