Bacardí’s Pedro Mendonça on leading rum’s growth and premium push
As global senior vice-president for Bacardí and rums, Pedro Mendonça is focused on building the brand’s 163-year legacy through purposeful brand growth. On The Spirits Business Podcast this week, Mendonça discusses how celebrating history while keeping the company relevant and contemporary against the challenges and realities of the current market will be key factors for long-term success.
Mendonça joined Bacardi as global senior vice-president of Bacardí and rums in January 2025.
He has more than 30 years’ experience in spirits, most recently leading teams in Latin America, Asia Pacific and globally at Diageo.
On this week’s episode of The Spirits Business Podcast, Mendonça spoke with Melita Kiely, editor-in-chief of The Spirits Business magazine and podcast host, about his career in the spirits industry, and the success behind Bacardí’s 163-year legacy.
“Bacardí, when it started in 1862, was really solving a true problem, which was inconsistency,” Mendonça says. “Don Facundo Bacardí [founder] created a very disruptive and innovative way of doing rum, which created a fresh, crisp sort of rum that revolutionised the cocktail.
“We can’t imagine a world today of a Daiquiri without Bacardí. It’s almost like dips without chips.”
He continues: “Bacardí is a rum, but Bacardí almost created rum and transcended rum, and is a brand that is bigger than the category and has created waves bigger than the category. When you think of that and you go: ‘So, what’s the next chapter? Where does the brand go to?’. There’s an enduring consistency and beauty, and power of this brand.
“I would put Bacardí as one of the benchmarks today in the world of how you maintain a consistent core, a consistent positioning, a consistent promise, but adapting to the realities and the dynamics, and the changing considerations around you.”
A continuous topic of discussion regarding rum is the category’s premiumisation. Mendonça agrees with industry generalisations that while the category is hugely successful, rum has not premiumised at the same rate as other spirits, such as single malts and agave spirits.
However, he is confident that rum is on the right path and, with further backing from the trade, it will enjoy the same surge in popularity that other categories have seen – and he is confident Bacardí is equipped to lead from the front.
“The category is starting to premiumise,” Mendonça says. “Over decades, a lot of people have talked about the premiumisation of rum. We thought it was going to happen 20 years ago. We thought it was going to happen 10 years ago. It’s one of the categories that hasn’t premiumised as fast as whiskies or Tequila or gin.
“Why I do believe in the premiumisation of the category is [because] the depth, the stories, the craftsmanship that is part of rum is remarkable, and the flavour profile, the characteristics and how rum continues to appeal to different consumer groups in different occasions.
“You can have a beautiful Old Fashioned with Bacardí 8, and if you haven’t had it, it’s one of the most delicious drinks. You can have a Daiquiri with Bacardí Carta, or you can sup a Reserva neat – it’s the layers of flavour and taste. Rum has that versatility, that horizontal and vertical ability to go into different occasions. So, I really do believe rum continues to be set for continuous growth.
“Has rum participated in some of the most emerging trends in relation to ready-to-drinks and convenience, and everyday enjoyment? No, and I think that’s on the category and on the leaders of the category to do a better job. That has been one of the big challenges the category has faced.”
To hear Mendonça’s thoughts on this, and more regarding not just premiumisation, but also the significance of the globally name-called Bacardí and Coke order, exciting areas of opportunity for rum, and his views on modern marketing and adaptability, head to The Spirits Business Podcast, available on all major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. Alternatively, listen via the Acast link below for free.
On last week’s podcast episode, we interviewed the forager of Ireland’s Glendalough Distillery, Geraldine Kavanagh, to hear about how her love of the outdoors turned into a career in gin.
The week prior, Zachary Poelma, senior vice-president of commercial intelligence at distribution company Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, shared the latest on-the-ground insights into the spirits industry in the US.
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