Creamy Creation: how cream liqueurs became a standout spirits category
Matthew J Benny, chief commercial officer for the Americas at Creamy Creation, debunks some common misconceptions about cream liqueurs and discusses in detail category trends, growth drivers, and the key skills offered by a B2B developer and manufacturer like Creamy Creation.
“Different people have different perceptions about the liqueurs category, and of course, the category is extremely wide, so it’s almost subcategories within the category,” explains Matthew J Benny, chief commercial officer, the Americas, at Creamy Creation, on the latest episode of The Spirits Business Podcast.
Creamy Creation is a leading B2B (business-to-business) manufacturer and developer of cream liqueurs and cream liqueur-based products, including ready-to-drink (RTD) concepts.
“The general perception historically has been that [liqueurs] are used in cocktails to enhance flavour or as ingredients in something else,” Benny continues. “But that being said, I think a lot of them have their own characteristics and can be drunk on their own.
“A lot of them are quite interesting in their own aspects and fairly unique.”
With 14 years under his belt at Creamy Creation, Benny is well-versed in the liqueurs space and seen its evolution over the years. He and the company bring a unique perspective on the cream liqueur category in particular, being in the business of creating products for third-party brands, as opposed to a direct-to-consumer brand.
“Entrepreneurs, smaller companies who don’t have resources, they don’t have a marketing department, they don’t have an R&D department, that’s typically where we shine because we have those experts within our team,” Benny says.
“We’ve got a marketing communications manager, an innovation manager, who are continuously looking at trends, relaying them back to products that we can make, [that we] can give data on what flavours are growing, which segments are growing, and help customers to pinpoint where they want to go.
“Then, I think the most important piece is the R&D aspect when it comes to development. So we can develop what we call ready-to-bottle products, where we do the development and produce the final liquid, and we have a team both in the Netherlands and the US, who work with the customers to create their end product.”
Creamy Creation, Benny stresses, is steadfast in its commitment to being a B2B producer, and is certain this is where its endeavours will remain.
“We don’t want to compete without customers. We want to make our customers more successful,” he adds.
Trends and growth drivers
Benny continues to discuss various trends he sees driving and emerging within the cream liqueur category.
In terms of spirits base, he notes: “Tequila is always there. Over the past five to seven years, Tequila just became more and more popular, and of course, as people discovered that there’s a lot of really good Tequila out there, they’ve also started to look at different ways of consuming Tequila, and that means a little bit more exploratory.
“So, Tequila cream has actually been quite popular, and that’s something that I think the average Tequila drinker doesn’t always think about, but again, when you talk about expanding your consumer base, you know that it does. If someone’s not interested in drinking a high-proof Tequila, maybe a Tequila cream is something that still you [can] get the taste of Tequila, but it’s a little but more sessionable, a little bit more easy to drink. So that diversification is definitely there.
“Rum comes and goes. I feel like it’s just a cyclical trend of every five to seven years rum becomes very popular then falls out of popularity. It’s coming around to being popular once again, but there’s also different alcohol bases, like wine and malt, which are becoming more interesting.”
Throughout the podcast episode, Benny also shares more insights into the growth he is witnessing across the cream liqueur category and his outlook for the next 12-18 months. For brands and entrepreneurs looking to expand their offerings in partnership with a third-party producer and developer like Creamy Creation, he also shares some sage words of advice.
The full episode with Creamy Creation’s Benny is now available to listen to on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. The Spirits Business Podcast is also available for free via Acast and the link below.
Recent guests have included Alexandre Gabriel, founder and master blender at Maison Ferrand, who went into detail about what it was like to rename his global rum brand, now known as Planteray, and the reasons behind that decision.
Related news
Sazerac House creates six liqueurs for cocktails
