Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics May/June 2015

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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Straight Vodka 26 Beverage Dynamics • May/June 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com vor profi le. And it is made in Poland, "the birthplace of vodka." "Every brand has its own story to tell," Portwood says. For Tito's, the core dif- ferentiators are the tale of founder Tito Beveridge, pot distillation and the fact that the vodka is made in the U.S. from 100% corn. Deep Eddy Vodka, based in Austin, Texas, emphasizes the brand's story and ingredients as well. "Consumers are migrating to- ward drinks with pure and natural ingredients from authentic brands created by real people," says CEO Eric Dopkins. "We've benefi ted from that trend and we've experienced growth of 117% last year." NEW AND NOTABLE Although most of the news in the cate- gory has been fl avor launches, there have been some recent developments on the straight side. Stolichnaya an- nounced the arrival of the elit pristine water series: An- dean Edition, the third and final limited edition in the company's ul- tra-premium vodka series. Each edition of elit contained a different water source; this year the waters of Colico Lake in Chile, a natural spring fl owing from the Andes Mountains, was used in the vodka. Just this March, Svedka introduced a 100-proof variant. "We introduced Svedka 100-Proof with the goal of ex- panding our franchise and bringing a high-quality imported vodka to the 100- Proof segment, which has been growing stronger than both 80-proof and fl avored vodkas year over year," Pawlik says. The packaging features a sleek, bright chrome sleeve with crisp and sophisticated white lettering. Diageo has released a variant of its ultra-premium vodka line in the limited edition Ciroc Ten. Made from French grapes and retailing for a reported $250, the new vodka was recently unveiled by brand co-owner Sean Combs. EMERGING TRENDS Out in the fi eld, retailers have spot- ted a few new styles of vodka coming into view. The same factors and concerns driv- ing the organic food evolution are fueling interest in organic spirits such as Square One, Ocean Vodka, Tru, Crop and Rain. "Organic vodka is still a very small sector but it's starting to pick up," says Rilee at Bottle King. Similarly, a growing number of peo- ple feel that gluten isn't good for them. That gluten-free diet can extend to the spirits they drink, creating a niche for gluten-free vodka. "Gluten-free has got- ten popular," agrees Smith at Sarasota LEADING BRANDS OF VODKA (Thousands of 9-Liter Cases) Brand Supplier 2013 2014p % Chg Smirnoff Diageo 9,580 9,310 -2.8% Absolut Pernod Ricard USA 4,440 4,135 -6.9% Svedka Constellation Brands 3,950 4,080 3.3% Grey Goose Bacardi USA 2,900 2,868 -1.1% Skyy Campari America USA 2,850 2,805 -1.6% Pinnacle Vodka Beam Inc. 2,756 2,675 -2.9% Burnett's Vodka Heaven Hill Brands 2,350 2,608 11.0% New Amsterdam E & J Gallo 1,978 2,480 25.4% Tito's Handmade Fifth Generation 1,200 2,200 83.3% Ketel One Vodka Diageo/Nolet Spirits 2,150 2,175 1.2% Total Leading Brands 34,154 35,336 3.5% Others 37,181 37,054 -0.3% Total Vodka 71,335 72,390 1.5% (p) Preliminary. Source: Handbook Advance 2015. " Consumers are increasingly looking for quality vodkas." — Gerard Thoukis, senior director of marketing for New Amsterdam Spirits

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