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Consumers pay 73% more for celebrity spirits
Celebrity brands accounted for 10% of spirits sold in Union’s venues in the year ended 31 July 2023, with George Clooney’s Casamigos brand the most popular choice.
Union is a hospitality insights platform that creates reports based on data from more than 1,000 US venues across 34 states.
Nearly 80% of Union’s venues stocked celebrity spirits, which the platform defines as those founded by a celebrity or operating with a celebrity ownership stake.
“That’s a hefty share,” commented Gary Ross, Union’s chief growth officer. “To put celebrity brands in perspective, their share represents more than double that of rum’s share of all spirits sold at Union venues. Star power is giving a tangible boost to these products, helping to win over on-premise guests.”
The ‘star power’ also encourages consumers to spend more, with the average price of a celebrity spirits drink at US$16.25, compared with US$9.38 for all brands.
The price difference is particularly stark for Cognac and Tequila brands, with celebrity varieties averaging at $20.62 and $16.88 respectively, compared with US$14.26 and US$11.41 for all brands.
Casamigos, the Tequila brand owned by Clooney and business partner Rande Gerber, accounted for a 91% sales share in Union’s celeb spirits category.
The second most popular brand in the category was Cîroc Vodka, which is an equal-share venture between rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Diageo. The two are currently involved in lawsuits regarding Cîroc and their co-owned Tequila brand DeLeón.
Also in the top 15 list were Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Teremana Tequila, Jay-Z’s D’Ussé Cognac, and Dos Hombres, a mezcal brand owned by Breaking Bad actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul.
Most brands remained stagnant in terms of growth in the recorded period, with the exception of Casamigos, which grew its market share by 3%.
Of the 15 top-selling celebrity brands, nearly half are Tequilas. Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila also made the list – the only female-led brand to do so.
The Spirits Business recently looked at how celebrities can make sure their brands are a success, as well as listing the top 10 celebrity-fronted campaigns.