StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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33 StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ March/April 2015 Burnett's Red Berry, Mango Pineapple and Ruby Red Grapefruit are tremendously important, whereas older consumers may seek their own style of creativity with 80-proof vodka," says Reid Hafer, senior brand manager for Burnett's Vodka. Though the category may be divided, the brand covers both sides of the vodka aisle with a healthy split between fl avored and regular. "I think fl avored and straight can coexist within a brand," com- ments Marla Burke, marketing & creative director for Phillips Distill- ing Company, which owns the UV Vodka brand. "The two segments defi nitely have a shift in consumers: the straight gives us more op- portunity to catch a wider net of consumers; the fl avored category consumer remains the LDA-plus drinker who typically likes sweeter fl avors and is more willing to experiment." "The fl avor consumer tends to be younger, more versatile and less brand loyal," says Nicolas Guillant, president of Imperial Brands, whose portfolio includes Sobieski Vodka. "Their point of entry is the fl avor rather than the brand. The fl avor consumer has a party or other occasion in mind while browsing the retail shelves." Sobieski has 11 fl avors but, Guillant says, 90 percent of its sales comes from base vodka. NO DIVORCE Not everyone sees an irreconcilable rift in the vodka category, however. "Consumers make different choices for different occasions rather than choosing one segment or another," says Brad Essig, vice president of the vodka category at Diageo, whose portfolio includes fl avor leader Smirnoff. "The same consumer may select a premium-priced straight vodka for a Martini at home one night and a confectionary-fl avored vodka as a shot at a bar the next night." "We don't see fl avored and unfl avored as having two different consumers or being two different categories with two different dy- namics," agrees Jason Dolenga, senior director of vodkas at Beam Suntory, whose portfolio includes fl avor pioneer Pinnacle Vodka. "We've done a lot of work recently to nail down where the opportu- nity is for vodka. Our target consumer is clearly females aged 30 to 39. We have found that this consumer enjoys unfl avored vodka as well as fl avored, maybe on different occasions, but there is variety-seeking behavior," he adds. When Beam Suntory took over the Pinnacle brand, it was known as an innovator in fl avored vodkas and its business was largely biased towards fl avors. Still, the brand had a large unfl avored business. "Cate- gorywise, unfl avored is about 80% of the market," Dolenga says. "The opportunity lies mainly in growing that unfl avored business at Pinnacle." Nonetheless, both Smirnoff and Pinnacle have been busy releasing new fl avors recently, as have Burnett's, UV Vodka and many other contenders. WHERE'S "IT" AT? The quest for the next great fl avor has preoccupied innovators for nearly a decade. Flavors have come in and out of vogue as the subcategory has evolved, and favorites vary according to region. Earliest entrants were simple citrus or fruit fl avors. Then came the confectionary phase with success stories like whipped and cake. Following those two hits came a plethora of fl avor releases, some rather far-out, like pickle, glazed donut and srira- cha, to name just a few. "Sometimes I get the feeling that vodka manufacturers are just tossing out fl avors to see what sticks," says Edward Mulvihill, director of sales & marketing at Peco's Liquors in Wilmington, DE. A few fl avors do stick around awhile. "Cake and Whipped fl avors are still popular at our store," says Jarett Young, a clerk at Davis Li- quor Outlet in Wichita, KS. "There was that big blip with Cake and Whipped," says Dachis at Merwin Liquors, "we still stock those." Epic Citrus, Kiwi Strawberry and Whipped Cream Wave Vodka Family