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Feature
Volcan de mi Tierra bets on prestige Tequila
The chief operating officer (COO) of Volcan de mi Tierra Tequila discusses the opportunities for growth in the prestige segment and the category’s potential to go global.
Established in 2017, Volcan de mi Tierra is a collaborative effort between Moët Hennessy and the Gallardo family. Volcan de mi Tierra is available in three core variants: Blanco, Reposado and Cristalino.
Explaining the origins of the brand, Carlos Pechieu, COO and general manager, said the company wanted to produce a Tequila “under only one condition; it needs to be the best Tequila”.
He continued: “It meant doing it the long way, the harder way. There’s more than 2,200 brands in the world of Tequila. Last year there was almost one brand launched a day. There’s only 169/170 distilleries and only 23 NOM distilleries.”
Being part of the Moët Hennessy distribution platform means the brand can expand its footprint quite quickly, says Pechieu. “So we started the project in 2017, pretty much focused on Mexico, US and Canada. And since 2023, we have expanded internationally, and we’re now in more than 90 countries,” he says.
In terms of countries, Pechieu says Volcan is performing well in the UK (the brand launched there in 2021) and describes Italy as “not a big Tequila market” but the brand is also growing there. The Balkans and Turkey are also reporting good performances, he adds. “Volcan had great growth outside of the US last year, which nobody anticipated. It shows that there is a consumer that is looking for Tequila and starting to discover Volcan.”
The US represents 85% of sales for Volcan de mi Tierra with Pechieu highlighting the opportunity for the category to grow globally.
Of the new markets, Pechieu said the brand is about to launch in India and has recently landed in South Africa. “We’re starting to explore duty free in the years to come. So there’s still a good amount of new opportunities and markets to be explored. We’re still small… we don’t want to over base ourselves in new markets.”
He describes Volcan as a “craft brand, a niche brand that is still in discovery mode” and one of a few to be made without abocantes (additives).
Earlier this year, Volcan de mi Tierra released Blanco Tahona (RRP US$153), which was made by crushing agaves using a two-ton volcanic stone wheel (tahona).
It followed the launch of the ultra-premium X.A last year, a blend of reposado, añejo and extra añejo Tequilas. The launch of X.A marked the first time the brand released a prestige Tequila above US$100, Pechieu explained. “We have a nice plan of innovation in the years to come,” he adds.
He described the new Blanco Tahona expression as the focus for 2024. Regarding the decision to launch the Tequila, he said: “We needed to remind ourselves that Tequila is both a white spirit and an aged expression of that white spirit. So if we were going to enter into this prestige world of Tequila, we should have a white expression, a blanco expression.”
‘Big opportunity for prestige Tequila’
Pechieu notes that the Tequila category is seeing growth across all price points, with the prestige segment “starting strong in the high-energy occasion”. However, this has since expanded, he says, with prestige Tequila being consumed over ice and in cocktails. But he is also increasingly aware of the current economic climate with some consumers not being able to afford more prestige expressions.
In the UK, he says there is a “big opportunity for prestige Tequilas to keep on growing” due to the “amount of high-net-worth [individuals] and knowledge of spirits”.
When asked whether the brand would work with a celebrity, as many Tequila makers have, Pechieu stressed: “We would not disregard working with a celebrity, but if we will go through that path, there needs to be a big connection with the family and their story, and therefore a true meaning behind it. We won’t do it just because it will help the brand, there needs to be a proper fit in terms of our DNA and family connection.”
In terms of expanding production, Pechieu said: “It’s something that we’re working on, it’s something that we’ve actually already invested upon in the last few years to make sure that we can supply. We believe there are limited craft Tequilas doing abocante-free Tequila that can expand the way we do, which is why we can take a bigger share of this craft world, because of our capacity to grow.”
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