StateWays Q www.stateways.com Q May/June 2014 20
F
or years now, the sight of your shelves teem-
ing with bottles of vodka, spanning value
brands and slick symbols of luxury alike, has
been a familiar one. After all, vodka remains
the country's most sought-after spirit.
According to the Beverage Information Group's
Handbook Advance 2014, vodka is still the industry
warhorse, accounting for about 34% of all spirits con-
sumed in the U.S. In 2013, vodka sales volume was 71.8
million 9-liter cases nationally, a 2.5% gain over 2012
totals. [In the control states, however, vodka showed
a miniscule decline of 0.2%.] The wildly popular fl a-
vored segment, already crammed with different fruit
and candy-inspired permutations, but which shows
no signs of relenting, now accounts for approximately
24% of all vodka sales nationally.
Still, many observers note that stiff competition
in the form of brown spirits is fi nally making a dent
in vodka's massive appeal. On the other hand, the fact
that the already saturated vodka category—one clut-
tered with all these imaginative fl avor hybrids, as well as
celebrity-endorsed newcomers, small-batch craft fi nds
and reinvented classics—continues to thrive amid inter-
nal and external competition is compelling. In the world
of vodka, this race to the top isn't off-putting; in fact,
it's an invitation for ambitious new rollouts and activa-
tions. Make it, both distillers and marketers know, and
the vodka lovers will come—no matter how many new
Clear Profit
Make it and the vodka
lovers will come— no matter
how many new options (or
alternative spirits) they must
contemplate in the process.
By Alia Akkam
