Upswing Continues For Impact’s Tequila “Hot Brands”
In the first part of our look at Impact’s “Hot Brand” spirits at mid-year, we ran down six-month NABCA numbers for the whiskies on the honor roll. In this issue we’ll examine trends on the rest of the Hot Brands spirits list, including Tequila, vodka, and liqueurs.
While the vast majority of spirits Hot Brands are continuing to show robust growth in control states so far this year, the largest among them—Tito’s—was roughly flat. Time will tell whether that marks just a blip on the radar or a lasting deceleration for the brand, which totaled more than 12 million cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank, doubling in size since 2017.
A total of five Tequilas earned Hot Brand honors earlier this year, and all of them continued to grow at double digits in control states in the first half, led by Don Julio, which was up by nearly 50%. “What we really like about our portfolio, and the moat we feel like we’re building, is that we actually have a very different Tequila business from most,” Diageo CEO Debra Crew recently told analysts. “As an example, on Don Julio, two-thirds of the brand is Reposado and above. You take the direct competitor to Don Julio, and that business is the opposite, only about a quarter is Reposado and above.”
Fellow Tequila Hot Brands Espolòn (+29%), Lunazul (+27%), Teremana (+25%), and Milagro (+19%) are also up strongly in control states so far this year. And their marketers continue to turn up the volume to reach new consumers. Heaven Hill recently kicked off “Look to Luna,” a new advertising campaign promoting Lunazul, which neared 1.3 million cases last year. Teremana is also getting significant advertising support via a new global “Share the Mana” campaign, while Campari is backing Espolòn Tequila with the brand’s first global campaign, titled “To the Bone.”
Within the liqueurs category, Campari America’s Aperol continues to be a key growth driver, having more than doubled in size over the past three years. The brand, which has leveraged trends toward daytime drinking and lower-abv cocktails, advanced at a 12.5% growth rate in control states this year through June. “We’re seeing very nice growth on Aperol and continue to feel very optimistic that there’s still a lot of upside in terms of its growth in the U.S.,” Campari America managing director Melanie Batchelor told SND.
Also from the liqueurs segment, Sazerac’s 99 schnapps label jumped by more than 30% in control states in the six months through June. With that performance, it’s well on its way to blowing past the 500,000-case mark in total U.S. volume this year. 99 is known for its extensive range of cordials flavors, all bottled at 99 proof.—Daniel Marsteller
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Tagged : Don Julio, Espolón, Lunazul, Milagro, Teremana, Tito’s