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.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/64274
EDITOR'S NOTE The Vodka Juggernaut A s we go to press, the latest industry news flash is that Beam Inc. is buying Pinnacle Vodka and Calico Jack Flavored Rum from White Rock Distilleries for about $605 million. Though Calico Jack has been a vibrant brand over the past few years (300,000 9-liter cases in 2011), clearly, the centerpiece of the deal is Pinnacle, with its approximately 30 flavors of vodka. Indeed, Pinnacle was one of the hottest spirits brands on the market last year, growing sales by 92.9% to 2.7 million cases, on the strength of newer flavors such as Whipped Cream and Cotton Candy. Not only does the deal, once again, underline the undeniable power of the vodka category relative to the entire U.S. spirits industry, it also emphasizes the increasingly large footprint that flavored vodkas have created in the marketplace. Here are the facts: Vodka depletions rose 6.0% in 2011 to 65.85 million 9-liter cases, now representing almost one-third of total spirits volume, according to the Beverage Information Group's Handbook Advance 2012. And while flavored vodkas now account for about 20% of the entire vodka market, their growth far outpaces unflavored vodkas: flavored vodka sales grew by 18% last year while unflavored vodkas gained just 1%. That old, overused expression, "Variety is the spice of life," is nowhere more true than among vodka offerings. Putting aside the wide range of unflavored vodkas available, for your amusement, here's a list of vodka flavors: acai, apricot, anise, apple, artichoke, bacon, banana, birch, biscotti, bison grass, black cherry, black currant, black tea, blood orange, blueberry, blue raspberry, bubble gum, butterscotch, cake, caramel, cherry lemonade, cherry whipped, chocolate, chipotle, chocolate whipped, clementine, coconut, coffee, cinnamon, cola, cookie dough, cotton candy, cranberry, cucumber, dill pickle, dragon fruit, dulce de leche, espresso, fig, French vanilla, fruit punch, ginger, gingerbread, grape, grapefruit, green apple, green tea, gummy, hazelnut, hibiscus, honey, honeydew, jasmine, kaffir lime, key lime, kiwi, kiwi-strawberry, lavender, lemon, lemonade, licorice, lychee, lime, marshmallow, mandarin, mango, maple, melon, mint, mojito mint, neopolitan, orange, orange whipped, passion fruit, peach, pear, pepper, peppermint, pineapple, plum, pomegranate, pump- kin, rangtang, raspberry, red berry, root beer, rose, spiced pear, spiced root beer, salmon, strawberry, sweet tea, tangerine, thin mint, tiramisu, toffee, tropical punch, tomato, vanilla, whipped cream, and the recently released flavors key lime whipped, jalapenos and the old reliable PB&J. As a retailer in our vodka story (turn to page 20) points out, "it seems Sr. Vice President and Group Publisher email: cforman@m2media360.com Editor-in-Chief Charles Forman Tel: 845-426-6072 Fax: 845-426-6423 email: rbrandes@m2media360.com Richard Brandes Tel: 212-353-3832 Fax: 212-353-8214 Managing Editor Jeremy Nedelka Harriet Lembeck F. Paul Pacult Robert Plotkin Michael Sherer Cheryl Ursin Contributing Editors Dan Berger Vice President of Sales, Associate Publisher Anthony Bongiovanni tbongiovanni@m2media360.com Senior Regional Sales Manager Mark Marcon mmarcon@m2media360.com Senior Regional Sales Manager Debbie Rittenberg drittenberg@m2media360.com Senior Regional Sales Manager Jeanette Sims jsims@m2media360.com Art Director Adam Lane Senior Research Analyst Adam Rogers List Rental Manager Cheryl Naughton RETAILER EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Charles Bailes III ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Orlando, FL Ralph Bondon Berbiglia's, Kansas City, MO David Breitstein Duke of Bourbon, Canoga Park, CA Jim Shpall Applejack Liquors, Wheat Ridge, CO Hal Gershman Happy Harry's Bottle Shop, Grand Forks, ND Charles Sonnenberg Frugal MacDoogal's, Nashville, TN Greg Wonsmos Centennial, Dallas, TX like there's a new vodka coming out every week." The issue, as always, is how to make space on the shelves for these products, which ones to keep and which ones to weed out. The problem is that nobody knows what will catch the fancy of the vodka consumer, so it's hard for a retailer not to give a new flavor a chance. For example, imagine the retailer who thought that a Whipped Cream flavor would never sell, and then watched in horror as his competitors blew out case after case. Vodka, it seems, has become as American as apple pie. Hey, come to think of it, there's a new, can't-miss vodka flavor, Apple Pie…unless some- one's already working on it. Richard Brandes, Editor-in-Chief 4 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • May/June 2012 M2MEDIA360 President/CEO Marion Minor Vice President, Finance & Operations Gerald Winkel VP Audience Development Joanne Juda-Prainito Production Director Mary Jo Tomei Beverage Dynamics is published by The Beverage Information Group a division of M2MEDIA360 Ron Junge Brown Derby Stores, Springfield, MO Dan Manning Haskell's, Minneapolis, MN Burt Notarius Premier Liquors, Kemmore, NY Editorial and executive offices at 17 High St., 2nd Fl., Norwalk, CT 06851 Telephone: (203) 855-8499 Fax: (203) 855-9446 E-mail: rbrandes@m2media360.com