Komos: Dubai gives Tequila ‘global visibility’
As Tequila gains momentum in the Middle East, luxury brand Komos has highlighted the region as one of its top markets, where it has reported double-digit growth in Dubai every year since its launch.
The Middle East, particularly Dubai, has started to show an affinity for Tequila, where brands such as Teremana, Diageo’s Don Julio and high-end products Clase Azul and Komos can be found.
Data from IWSR backs the growth of the Tequila category, with Middle East volumes up by 16% last year. By value, the segment rose by 21% in the region. From 2025 to 2035, Tequila is expected to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4% in both volume and value in the Middle East.
The high spending power in Middle East markets like Dubai have boosted sales of Komos Tequila, which typically retails from AED 324 (US$88) to AED 1,093‐plus (US$298), depending on the variant and bottle size.
The brand made its debut in Dubai in September 2022, with other markets in the Middle East following 12-18 months later. “We have been growing in Dubai by double digits every year since the launch,” says Leslie Serrero, international managing director of parent firm Casa Komos Brands Group (CKBG).
Dubai remains a key focus, and the biggest market for Komos Tequila in the region, with Abu Dhabi second. Serrero points to Dubai as having an international consumer base. “Dubai is a volume market, because people can buy or spend a lot, but it’s also an image market,” she says, adding that the market brings “global visibility”.
“People who go to Dubai are willing to enjoy the time that they spend there, meaning they’re more likely to consume high‐end spirits, and there’s definitely purchasing power that you may not find everywhere, which makes it a great market for us,” Serrero adds, noting that Dubai has become a travel hub. Komos made its Dubai Duty Free debut in October 2024.
“Even if you don’t stop in Dubai, you travel via Dubai,” she says. “It’s an incredible image market to build brands for the rest of the world, and we’ve seen that people seeing us in Dubai has positively impacted [the brand] in other markets more towards Asia.”
In terms of other opportunities in the Middle East, Serrero says the market that “everybody is looking at that hasn’t opened yet to alcohol is Saudi Arabia”.
Earlier this year, reports emerged that Saudi Arabia had started to allow wealthy foreign residents to buy alcohol. It is rumoured that this could be extended to tourists in the future.
She adds: “It should be an interesting market, because tourism is growing strongly. There’s no alcohol consumption, but if there’s an opening then it will be a very, very new market and I think everybody’s excited to think what it could be like.”
Speaking about the impact of the Middle East conflict, Serrero says: “Because of the size of the Dubai market and the importance of Dubai airports, the reduction in tourism, and the slowdown of activity have impacted us in the short term.”
She adds that the summer tends to be a quieter period. “I’m hopeful that starting in September it should go back to more regular levels of sales,” she says, adding that the off-trade has been performing better than the on‐trade and duty free. To mitigate some of the impact, CKBG has been “working closer with retail stores to promote the brand, while continuing to support our on‐trade partners because it’s definitely been difficult for them”, Serrero says.
Komos eyes Asia for Tequila growth
Based in Paris, Serrero joined CKBG in September 2022 after a 10-year stint at French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, holding leadership roles across Fendi and Dior. LVMH also co-owns a high-end Tequila brand in Volcan de mi Tierra through a joint venture.
In the newly created role of international managing director, Serrero oversees global markets outside of the US for New York-headquartered CKBG.
Komos is in 40 countries globally, with Serrero calling the Middle East one of its top markets, alongside the US where the brand “continues to grow but at a slower pace”.
The brand is also seeing “very strong growth” in Southeast Asia with plans to enter China soon. “China is a small Tequila market in absolute terms. It’s definitely not the drink of choice, nor is it anywhere in Asia, but it is a growing segment,” says Serrero.
India is also “growing really fast,” and the brand recently launched in Indonesia as well.
Regarding consumption trends for Tequila worldwide, Serrero adds: “I think all the markets get influenced by global trends, and I think consumer tastes are evolving, so that’s what we see everywhere. The big Tequila market continues to be the US, and while it continues to grow in the US, I’ve seen higher growth in other parts of the world – Europe being one of them.”
She notes how in the past, Europe was not a strong market for Tequila due to its previous “bad image”, when it was known as a shot-slamming low-quality product.
Serrero continues: “The discussions I had about Tequila [seven years ago] are very different from the ones I have today, so it was still perceived as a niche alcohol where people had a bad experience, and the fact that more and more brands have invested into making really good Tequila has evolved the consumer perception.”
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