SPIRITS FLYING OFF THE SHELVES
Spirits posted another solid term of growth into the fourth quarter of 2006 where almost all its sub categories increased in dollar sales, according to IRI scan data for total U.S. food and drug stores
The spirits category was up 4% in dollar sales ending December 2006 from the previous year, with vodka continuing to gain the greatest share and driving overall industry growth. How much of the pie does each sub category take? Vodka holds the highest dollar share at 28%, followed by whiskey (25.2%), rum (13%), cordials (12.8%), tequila (7.3%), gin (4.5%), prepared cocktails (4.2%), Brandy (3.5%), and cognac (1.7%).
All categories, except brandy (down 3.1%) and gin (down 0.2%), reported dollar growth in the last quarter of 2006, and were primarily fueled by the tequila, vodka, and prepared cocktail categories. Dollar sales for cognac, cordials and rum grew 2%, 3% and 4%, while tequila, prepared cocktails and vodka took the cake at 10%, 7% and 7%. Whiskey remained relatively flat at 0.1%.
The top five spirits brands based on dollar sales were Smirnoff (up 8.2%), Bacardi (1.7%), Captain Morgan (9%), Jack Daniels 6%), and Absolut (7%). Jose Cuervo Prepared Cocktails fell at the bottom of the top 15 list, but grew at the fastest rate (up 28.2%).
What about all those different flavors on the shelves? Flavored rum continues to fuel the rum category, while regular vodka shows a higher increase in sales than flavored vodka. In the vodka category it’s not that big of a difference: dollar sales of flavored vodka grew 6.6% and regular vodka increased 7%. Regular rum, on the other hand, grew just 1.6% while flavored rum jumped 5.6%.
Sales of Bacardi and Diageo grew above category growth at 5% and 5.3%, respectively. Brown-Forman saw sales rise 2%, while Fortune grew 0.6% and Pernod declined a little (-0.9%). Diageo held the highest share (28%) in December 2006, followed by Fortune (13%), Bacardi (10%), Pernod (8%) and B-F (7%).
As far as retail goes, spirits saw a sales decline in drug stores during the fourth quarter.
Liquor stores saw the highest increase in dollar sales, up 13.4%, while food stores were second with 5.8% dollar growth.
Cognac took the largest price increase at $0.75 average base price per 750ml, followed by cordial and tequila at $0.62 and $0.56, respectively. Super-premium segments for rum, tequila, vodka and whiskey showed the most growth in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Packaging, as we know, has become more of a focus in the industry, resulting in all types of innovative new bottles. However, the 750ml bottle size still dominates with 50% share of the category (up 5% in sales), while the 1.75L bottle comes in second.
Speaking of innovations, new spirits products accounted for close to $21million in sales in the fourth quarter, with the majority being classified as private labels. Vitali Domestic Vodka, followed by Bacardi Grand Melon rum and Stolichnaya Bluebird Flavored vodka, led the pack as the best selling.
The spirits category was up 4% in dollar sales ending December 2006 from the previous year, with vodka continuing to gain the greatest share and driving overall industry growth. How much of the pie does each sub category take? Vodka holds the highest dollar share at 28%, followed by whiskey (25.2%), rum (13%), cordials (12.8%), tequila (7.3%), gin (4.5%), prepared cocktails (4.2%), Brandy (3.5%), and cognac (1.7%).
All categories, except brandy (down 3.1%) and gin (down 0.2%), reported dollar growth in the last quarter of 2006, and were primarily fueled by the tequila, vodka, and prepared cocktail categories. Dollar sales for cognac, cordials and rum grew 2%, 3% and 4%, while tequila, prepared cocktails and vodka took the cake at 10%, 7% and 7%. Whiskey remained relatively flat at 0.1%.
The top five spirits brands based on dollar sales were Smirnoff (up 8.2%), Bacardi (1.7%), Captain Morgan (9%), Jack Daniels 6%), and Absolut (7%). Jose Cuervo Prepared Cocktails fell at the bottom of the top 15 list, but grew at the fastest rate (up 28.2%).
What about all those different flavors on the shelves? Flavored rum continues to fuel the rum category, while regular vodka shows a higher increase in sales than flavored vodka. In the vodka category it’s not that big of a difference: dollar sales of flavored vodka grew 6.6% and regular vodka increased 7%. Regular rum, on the other hand, grew just 1.6% while flavored rum jumped 5.6%.
Sales of Bacardi and Diageo grew above category growth at 5% and 5.3%, respectively. Brown-Forman saw sales rise 2%, while Fortune grew 0.6% and Pernod declined a little (-0.9%). Diageo held the highest share (28%) in December 2006, followed by Fortune (13%), Bacardi (10%), Pernod (8%) and B-F (7%).
As far as retail goes, spirits saw a sales decline in drug stores during the fourth quarter.
Liquor stores saw the highest increase in dollar sales, up 13.4%, while food stores were second with 5.8% dollar growth.
Cognac took the largest price increase at $0.75 average base price per 750ml, followed by cordial and tequila at $0.62 and $0.56, respectively. Super-premium segments for rum, tequila, vodka and whiskey showed the most growth in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Packaging, as we know, has become more of a focus in the industry, resulting in all types of innovative new bottles. However, the 750ml bottle size still dominates with 50% share of the category (up 5% in sales), while the 1.75L bottle comes in second.
Speaking of innovations, new spirits products accounted for close to $21million in sales in the fourth quarter, with the majority being classified as private labels. Vitali Domestic Vodka, followed by Bacardi Grand Melon rum and Stolichnaya Bluebird Flavored vodka, led the pack as the best selling.
posted at 2:33 PM
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