818 is top-selling premium Tequila in China
Kendall Jenner’s 818 was the number-one premium Tequila brand in China, according to IWSR data.
Mike Novy, president and chief operating officer of 818 Tequila and Sprinter, confirmed that the brand was the leading premium Tequila in China since last spring.
China’s leading independent distributor, China Bev, launched 818 Tequila in on-trade venues across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen in August 2022.
Novy previously called China a “meaningful” market for 818, where it became “big in the nightlife on-trade”.
The US is the biggest market for 818, where it is the number-10 best-selling Tequila over US$24 (IRI data), Novy says, and the eighth top-selling blanco.
“The category is growing at 5% and we’re growing at about 65%, so we’re doing well,” he added.
Novy also said the brand is performing well in the UK and “rapidly growing” in Australia. He cited double-digit growth rates in the “high 20s, low 30s” for the brand in international markets.
Novy said the aim is to reach 250,000 nine-litre cases over the next couple of years.
In terms of new markets, Novy is hoping to open up continental Europe. “We have some brand activations in France this year; we’re building that out more. We’ll see something soon about Spain opening up and Greece. We’d love to be in Brazil.”
Novy describes Australia as a “vibrant” emerging market for Tequila, while Spain and Germany are markets with potential.
He says that areas with a “high concentration” of its core consumer – typically working professionals aged 21 to 35 years old – are not necessarily Tequila drinkers but the brand is able to get the “category benefits of Tequila”.
“There’s interest in Tequila, there’s growth in Tequila,” he explains of the brand’s market strategy. “A lot of consumers who drink 818 in Thailand, China or India right now are not necessarily drinking other Tequilas before we enter the market. They’re drinking a cocktail, gin or anything else. They came to us partly because of what our brand represents.
“They’ve now become a wonderful, exciting pack of ambassadors around the globe. So much of what we’re doing in terms of understanding where to go next is trying to identify where those consumers are travelling.”
Kathleen Braine, chief marketing officer of Sprinter and 818, said the plan over the next five years for 818 is to “continue to expand our global market presence, grow our market share in the US, and continue to invest in sustainable practices and community initiatives”.
Kendall: ‘creative visionary’
In terms of marketing, Braine said Kendall “is the creative visionary behind all of our brand work and is deeply involved in all aspects of the business” but the company seeks to ensure the Tequila “can stand on its own without [Kendall] being the focal point of all of the consumer marketing”.
Collaborations based on “timely and relevant” trends are key to the brand’s marketing strategy, with Braine citing 818’s recent partnership with Chamberlain Coffee on an Espresso Martini kit as an example.
“Emma Chamberlain and Kendall kicked off the campaign with teaser videos that highlighted the Espresso Martini trend, the versatility of 818 Tequila, and their genuine, fun friendship,” said Braine.
She also highlighted another 818 partnership with Rao’s Speciality Foods, which “tapped into the trend of at-home cooking and mixology and played on the theme of a cosy night in, with an unconventional twist”.
Novy also has big ambitions for ready-to-drink (RTD) brand Sprinter, which was founded by Kendall Jenner’s sister, Kylie Jenner, earlier this year.
The goal is for Sprinter to become a top-five spirit-based RTD brand in the US over the next five years, he said. Novy expects the canned vodka and soda brand to hit one million cases in “at least a year and a half” and three million over the next few years.
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