WHITE SPIRITS: VODKA Craft vodkas pique interest in DF&TR


As gin continues to gain greater exposure – and shelf space – in DF&TR, the vodka category mounts its counter attack with an array of craft brands and new flavour variants flooding the market. Charlotte Turner reports.


M


id-priced vodka brands grew their combined share of the market from


83.3% in 2016 to 83.6% in 2017 as total vodka sales rose by just 2%. However, it must be highlighted that this was a relatively positive result considering that sales on the domestic market fell by -6.1%. Interestingly, although many


well-known companies continued to launch new flavour profiles, sales of flavoured vodkas were actually flat last year, according to Sandra Newman from International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR) . “Nemirovskaya, Stolichnaya,


Cîroc and Nemiroff were the fastest- growing top-10 brands last year,” Newman told TRBusiness. “Brands from Russia, Ukraine, the


US, Canada and New Zealand were among the fastest growing in 2017.” Although flavoured vodka sales


were flat, demand did appear to grow in the Americas and Europe, led by Absolut and Cîroc in the Americas and Finlandia, Soplica, Zubrowka and Nemiroff in Europe. The top three performing


vodka brands in duty free last year – ranked by volume sales – were Absolut, Smirnoff and Grey Goose. However, sales of the no. 1 brand, Absolut, dropped -4.9% last year, Smirnoff’s sales dipped -6% and in third position, Grey Goose registered a -6.2% decline. Interestingly, Grey Goose


had been performing well up until the beginning of last year, which was particularly challenging, not only for Bacardi’s super-premium brand… “It has been a challenging year


for vodka globally, particularly in the face of the huge surge in gin sales,” says Andrew Carter, Global Commercial Director for Chase Distillery. “However the good news is that the super-premium


SEPTEMBER 2018


vodka category has continued to hold its position.” Chase Vodka and its flavoured


vodka products, notably Marmalade and Rhubarb variants, have continued to attract consumer attention across airport, cruise and ferry retails stores, according to Carter.


Challenging 2016/2017 Similarly Nemiroff said its new


flavoured variants also performed well last year against a challenging trading backdrop. “The flavoured segment has


been declining for two years in a row,” says Elena Davydova, Trade-Marketing Manager DF&TR. “In 2017 flavoured vodka


decreased by 3%. According to IWSR data, in 2017, 50% of vodka market volume in DF&TR channel was generated by three international leading brands. Nemiroff is one of those


three, demonstrating stable annual growth.” The success of some flavoured


vodka producers, may be less to do with the flavour variant and more to do with the way in which the spirit is made. Demand for small batch or craft


products is something which the whole spirits business is benefiting from as Carter concurs. “Increasingly


travellers are


interested in the craft spirits category, drawn particularly to brands with provenance and those that are made locally. “In addition, consumers are


looking for value-added packaging and we’ve noticed a trend of our Chase Vodka Union Jack tins being recognised as a great souvenir gifting purchase.” Carter insists that Chase has


helped to ‘revolutionise’ the spirits market


by being the first to


establish a single-estate distillery in the UK. “The ‘field to bottle’ ethos


encapsulates the journey the spirits make, from the potato fields to the bottling line, all on our Herefordshire


“The main trend in vodka is that mainstream brands are declining whilst craft brands like Tito’s Handmade Vodka are growing.”


John McDonnell, Managing Director International, Tito’s


TRBUSINESS 43


Above: Tito’s capitalises on trend for craft vodka.


Below left: Brown-Forman is encouraged by Finlandia’s sales outside of Eastern Europe.


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