The pandemic volumes ‘bump’ that rum received in 2020 (January to August) was a modest 4% on the corresponding period a year earlier. In 2021 (January to August), the rise was a mere 2% – This compares to volumes of +5% for total spirits in the US for both periods.
Since then, however, rum has slipped into decline.
The downward trend holds true for broadly all of rum’s sub-categories – dark white and flavoured. Declines have been slightly worse for flavoured rum (the largest sub-category, accounting for 43% of rum’s total US volumes).
This latest data comes from IWSR US Navigator, the industry’s only trusted source of monthly volume data for the total US beverage alcohol market – across wine, spirits, beer, cider, RTDs and no-alcohol – by price tier, for all 50 states going back to 2019, based on local tax office data.
Rum’s largest markets in the US
At a state-level, the top eight account for 50% of the country’s volumes of rum. Florida is the clear number one, accounting for 15% of the total rum consumed in 2024 (January to August), up from 12% in 2019. The leader is followed by New York at 8% of US volumes, California at 7%, Texas at 6% and Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin each with 4%.
For January to August this year:
- All states have seen declines from their peaks of 2021, with Florida down 3% and New York almost flat (-1%). California, meanwhile, has fallen 7%
- Only New Jersey, Massachusetts, Georgia, Maryland, Louisiana, Connecticut, Hawaii and Rhode Island have seen bigger declines than California’s, all down 8% from 2021.
Premiumisation opportunities by state
In Florida, premiumisation has been impressive, with the ‘standard’ price tier jumping from 15% rum market share in 2019 to 43% in 2024 (January to August); the ‘value’ segment over the same period went from 80% to 51%.
Up in New York, both ‘standard’ and ‘value’ price bands lost share to ‘premium-and-above’, which gained 5pts of share to represent 12% of the state’s rum market in 2024 – the largest gain of any of the top eight states.
Premiumisation opportunities by price tier and sub-category
While consumer movement up the price ladder has been robust in rum, this has been happening at lower price tiers to what has been occurring in those spirits categories with more=established premiumisation capabilities, such as whiskey/whisky and tequila.
The vast majority of rum’s premiumisation has been evident between the ‘value’ and ‘standard’ price tiers. Between 2019 and 2024, the spirits’ value’ tier has slipped from 52% volume share to 42%, while ‘standard’ has gone from 42% to 51%.
‘Premium-and-above’ rum has gained a single point of share, from 6% in 2019 to 7% this year.
White and flavoured rum have not found the recipe for premiumising their sub-categories beyond ‘standard’ – the pair’s combined ‘premium-and-above’ price segment languishes at 4% share of rum in the country. In dark rum, however, ‘premium-and-above’ has grown its share from 11% in 2019 to 17% this year (January to August).
What’s the outlook for rum in the US?
“The lack of a standardised production framework makes it harder for brands to convey a quality ladder across rum,” says Marten Lodewijks, president of IWSR’s US division. “Meanwhile, high-end rums are relatively more affordable than high-end products in competing categories.”
“Brands could lean into this, especially in the current economic climate.”
Despite frequent introductions of line extensions by established brand owners, there is a shortage of new-to-market rum brands entering the market. This has led to lower consumer excitement, particularly compared to categories such as tequila and American whiskey.
A strengthened focus on rum-based RTDs – such as last year’s launch of Vita Coco Spiked with Captain Morgan – may help drive excitement in the category.
