Top 10 fastest-growing Brand Champions 2024
Ready-to-drink brands have again raced ahead when it comes to sales numbers, but gins have been left in the dust while Tequila faltered.
Once again, RTDs have a strong presence in the fastest‐growing table. Top of the leaderboard is Surfside, which made its Brand Champions debut last year. The RTD’s sales soared by 270.5% in 2024 to reach 4.7 million nine‐litre cases, up from 1.3m in 2023.
While Surfside was the fastest‐growing by some margin, multiple brands enjoyed triple‐digit success last year. Indian whisky Iconiq White Whisky rose by 181.3%. Meanwhile, Ladoga’s Fowler’s whisky brand made its first appearance in The Brand Champions after topping 1.1m cases – a 120% sales increase.
Also waving the flag for RTDs with triple‐digit growth are Cottage Springs (119.5%) from Pernod Ricard, and Jack Daniel’s & Coca‐Cola (103.8%). RTD Finnish Long Drink enjoyed 44.4% growth, while Sui Gin grew by 22.6% and Absolut RTD/RTS passed the 1m‐case mark for the first time following 65.5% growth last year.
In last year’s report, Tequila had a real stronghold in the fastest‐growing list. However, this year only Heaven Hill Brands’ Lunazul Tequila is featured. The Tequila delivered a 37.0% volume increase to reach 1.7m cases.
While Cognac struggled in 2024, a trio of brandies experienced rapid growth. Aznauri Brandy ended the year with a 45.4% sales lift, and Courrier Napoleon Brandy saw a 28.3% increase to put it just shy of the 2m‐case mark. Old Admiral Brandy also had a solid 2024, with 19.3% growth.
No gins feature in this year’s fastest‐growing list. Four vodka brands, on the other hand, had an impressive 2024: Husky (55.1%), Tsarskaya/Imperial Gold Collection (43.5%), Oxygenium (35.1%, making its debut in The Brand Champions), and Nemiroff (20.8%).
Of the whiskies featured, Indian and world whiskies demonstrated the quickest growth, while Scotch, Irish and American styles are noticeably absent from the listings. And after several whisky producers paused production at their distilleries this year, indicating a surplus of supply compared with demand, it will be interesting to see how the tables fare next year.
Below are the top 10 fastest-growing spirits brands of 2024. The data is provided to two decimal places, and represents nine-litre case sales.
10. Finnish Long Drink
Owner: The Long Drink Company
Category: RTD
2020 0.2m | 2021 0.5m | 2022 1.1m | 2023 1.8m | 2024 2.6m
Growth: 44.4%
In 2022, Finnish Long Drink entered the million-case ranks after skyrocketing by 114.2%. As such, it was the fastest-growing spirit brand in 2022, and the second-fastest-growing in 2023. Now, its growth continues to speed along – with thanks to investment from rapper Jay-Z, and the unveiling of a peach variant – but at a slightly more modest pace.
9. Aznauri Brandy
Owner: Global Beverage Trade
Category: Brandy
2020 0.3m | 2021 0.5m | 2022 0.6m | 2023 1.1m | 2024 1.6m
Growth: 45.3%
Marking its second year in The Brand Champions, Aznauri leapt by more than 45% last year, once again making it a stand-out performer in both the brandy category and the spirits sector as a whole.
While last year’s Brandy category Brand Champion couldn’t match its heady growth of 2023, its trajectory remains extremely positive, continuing a rise that has been steady since the Covid-19 pandemic.
8. Husky
Owner: Alcohol Siberia Group
Category: Vodka
2020 0.9m | 2021 0.9m | 2022 1.3m | 2023 1.6m | 2024 2.5m
Growth: 55.1%
As Russian vodka sales started to rebound in 2024, Siberia-produced Husky benefited from a substantial sales jump, making it the eighth-fastest-growing Brand Champion spirit.
The spirit is filtered 13 times using cold-filtration technology. This lower temperature during the process means a higher proportion of impurities is removed, improving both the taste and texture of the vodka.
7. Absolut RTD/RTS
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Category: RTD
2022 0.7m | 2023 0.8m | 2024 1.4m
Growth: 65.5%
Fuelled by the increasing popularity of convenient, pre-mixed cocktails, Absolut has been able to capitalise by expanding its RTD offerings, which have now surpassed the one-million-case sales mark.
Firstly, the brand added new variants to the bottled cocktail range it debuted in February last year – Espresso Martini and Classic Cosmopolitan, both with an ABV of 20%. Then, in the spring, the vodka brand revived three classic cocktails in a canned RTD format: a Classic Mule, a Classic Cosmo, and a Half & Half Tea & Lemonade.
6. After Dark Whisky
Owner: Radico Khaitan
Category: Whisky – Indian
2020 0.5m | 2021 0.6m | 2022 0.6m | 2023 0.9m | 2024 1.6m
Growth: 74.1%
This 100% grain-based whisky manufactured at Radico’s Rampur distillery in India makes its debut in The Brand Champions report this year, having passed the one-million-case sales mark for the first time in 2024.
The brand reached new heights in 2022, with the launch of After Dark Blue Whisky, a variant designed to appeal to younger consumers. Infused with Scotch malts and pure grain spirit, After Dark Blue is said to offer a smooth, modern taste experience with a contemporary design that resonates with a fresh generation of whisky drinkers. Since then, the brand has gone from strength to strength.
5. Jack Daniel’s & Coca-Cola
Owner: Brown-Forman
Category: RTD
2023 0.9m | 2024 1.6m
Growth: 74.2%
Having only launched in 2022, the collaborative RTDs from Tennessee brand Jack Daniel’s and the world’s most popular soft drink, Coca-Cola, sold 1.6m cases in 2024, stealing share from the whiskey brand’s JD & Cola RTDs, which are gradually being phased out by Brown-Forman. All of this proved that joining forces with other iconic named brands is the way forward, as it brings together loyal consumers from both sides of the fence.
4. Cottage Springs
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Category: RTD
2023 0.8m | 2024 1.8m
Growth: 119.5%
Pernod Ricard’s Canadian affiliate, Corby Spirit and Wine, acquired this brand in 2023, when it hadn’t quite hit the million‐case milestone. In 2024, it sold nearly two million.
Cottage Springs’ product is the leading RTD brand in Ontario, with best-selling products such as Cottage Springs Vodka Soda, Vodka Water, and Tequila Soda.
3. Fowler’s
Owner: Ladoga
Category: Whisky – World
2022 0.2m | 2023 0.5m | 2024 1.1m
Growth: 120.0%
Breaking into the Brand Champions report for the first time, this Russian whisky has seen extraordinary growth in the three years since its launch. It boasts several fruit-infused variants, including cherry, apple, orange and vanilla expressions – though these are classified as ‘whisky spirit drinks’ due to their 35% ABV. Meanwhile, its 40% grain whisky lands within the classification rules for a world whisky.
2. Iconiq White Whisky
Owner: Allied Blenders & Distillers
Category: Whisky – Indian
2023 1.6m | 2024 4.5m
Growth: 181.3%
In just two years in the market, Iconiq has achieved sales numbers that other more established brands could only dream of. This year’s Indian whisky champion reported triple‐digit growth in one year, soaring by 181.3% in 2024.
The brand, owned by Allied Blenders & Distillers, hit 4.5 million nine‐litre cases, overtaking established stablemate Sterling Reserve, which plunged by nearly a quarter last year. ABD’s managing director, Alok Gupta, attributes Iconiq’s growth to the company’s “decision to take a bold, unconventional approach in a category that typically leans on legacy and heritage”.
1. Surfside
Owner: Stateside Urban Craft Vodka
Category: RTD
2022 0.2m | 2023 1.3m | 2024 4.7m
Growth: 270.5%
In 2023, Stateside Urban Craft Vodka’s RTD brand Surfside crossed the one million nine‐litre‐case sales mark for the first time; in 2024, it leapt from 1.3m cases to 4.7m – an astounding 270.5% growth. On top of this, the brand expanded its portfolio with three new lemonade flavours and two vodka‐tea flavours. Plus, it became available in all 50 US states, as well as the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.
How did it manage such success? “Being first to market with our Iced Tea + Vodka canned cocktails provided a first‐mover advantage and enabled Surfside to stand apart from the competition,” says Clement Pappas, co‐founder and CEO of Stateside Brands, which owns Surfside.
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