As the global travel retail channel returned to form last year, spirits volumes recovered markedly against the year prior; for some, much more than others.
Global travel retail turned a corner last year as passengers took to the air and ‘revenge spent’ in their droves. The increased volume of travellers helped drive sales for spirits brand owners, although passenger numbers were still below 2019. Indeed, the mid-line projection from global airports trade association ACI predicts a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels sometime in early 2024.
The race to recover lost sales in spirits is being fought hard.
Global Drinks Intel has exclusive 2022 data on the Top 50 spirits brands in GTR from leading drinks analyst and global travel retail expert IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. It is important to note these rankings are based on sales by volume, not value, and that all Russian-owned brands have been excluded. Nonetheless, the analysis offers some valuable trend insights.
Whisky/whiskey retained its dominance, accounting for five places in the Top Ten, including the top three positions. As in 2021, Diageo's Johnnie Walker, Brown-Forman's Jack Daniel’s and Pernod Ricard's Chivas Regal led the way. Jack Daniel’s has closed the gap slightly on its Scotch rival with better growth - 103% versus 97% - while Chivas Regal trailed with 88%.
Moët Hennessy's namesake Cognac struggled last year, falling from fourth in 2021 to eighth with anaemic volume growth of 39%. According to the brand owner, Hennessy had an “exceptionally high comparison base in 2020 and 2021 [across all sales channels] and its volumes were down slightly year on year”, affected in China by sporadic Covid-19 outbreaks, and in the US by supply chain disruptions.
Hennessy’s loss in GTR was a gain for Pernod Ricard's Absolut Vodka, which replaced the Cognac by climbing up a place to fourth. Diageo's Baileys liqueur brand, meanwhile, rose three places to No.5, giving its owner two top-five places for the first time in a while - and matching Pernod Ricard.
While Moët Hennessy lost ground at the top of the table due to Hennessy, the company Glenmorangie single malt debuted in the Top 50 last year, in 44th place. The brand saw a 121% increase in volumes last year, giving its owner two places on the chart.
Portfolio players assert their power
The rankings confirmed that the multinationals remain dominant in the rebounding GTR channel. Pernod Ricard held ten places in the Top 50, the same as a year earlier, although only four places were in the Top Ten versus five a year ago, thanks to Martell dropping out - more on this performance later.
Diageo took eight places, one more than 2021 as VAT 69 made its entry at No.42, while Bacardi held steady with five. Other groups with two or more brands on the list were William Grant & Sons, Beam Suntory, Brown-Forman, Campari Group, Edrington, Moët Hennessy and Proximo Spirits. Twelve other companies each had a single brand in the ranking.
The two biggest volume growers in the Top 10 came from Bacardi: The namesake rum surged by 142%, pushing it up to seventh place from 12th the year before, and Bombay Sapphire gin reached tenth position, up from 14th, with growth of 182%. Across the full Top 50, Bacardi's brands have done well in increasing their volumes, alongside Diageo. Bombay Sapphire and Dewar’s Scotch both grew at just over 180%, and Grey Goose managed 124%, while Diageo’s Smirnoff vodka and VAT 69 Scotch topped the growth list for 2022 at 237% and 221%, respectively.
The biggest casualty in the GTR Top 10 was Pernod Ricard's Martell Cognac, whose volumes declined in 2022, one of just two brands to see a contraction - the other was Barceló Rum, which was ranked 47th. Martell tumbled from seventh place in 2021 to 16th, underlining a difficult year for the Cognac segment more broadly, due to China’s unstable health situation last year.
In total, 17 brands in the Top 50 doubled their year-on-year volumes in global travel retail last year. They included Diageo's Captain Morgan rum at 101%, Illva Saronno's Disaronno amaretto liqueur at 111%, Beam Suntory's Cruzan rum at 113% and Stoli Group's namesake vodka at 135%. There were three borderline brands: La Martiniquaise's Label 5 Scotch at 99%, Diageo's Gordon’s at 98% as well as the latter's Johnnie Walker portfolio.
Below them, 12 brands saw volumes increase in the 67%-to-89% band. Among them were Edrington's The Famous Grouse at 67%, Mast-Jägermeister's liqueur brand at 73%, Amarula - now under its new owner, Heineken - at 83%, Anora's Koskenkorva vodka at 84% and Bacardi's Patrón Tequila.
Another 12 brands grew at a rate of between 33% and 59%, including William Grant & Sons' Hendrick’s gin at 33%, Edrington's The Macallan at 35%, Brown-Forman's - soon to be Coca-Cola HBC's - Finlandia vodka at 53%, Ian Macleod Distillers' King Robert Scotch at 55%, Beam Suntory's Jim Beam at 57% and Tito’s Handmade Vodka at 58%.
Excluding Martell and Barceló, the weakest brands in terms of volume growth, according to IWSR, were Pernod Ricard's Royal Salute, which was up by only 16%, Nemiroff vodka at +23%, William Grant's Glenfiddich single malt at +30% and brand Campari at +31%.
The brands to watch in 2023
In the mid-to-lower tiers, there are some brands that are worth watching. This year could be when Tequila finally makes its mark in global travel retail. Proximo Spirits' Jose Cuervo stormed into 20th place last year with volume growth of 169%, after entering the Top 50 in 40th position in 2021.
Bacardi's Dewar’s brand was ranked 17th, up from 32 in 2021, while Rémy Cointreau's St-Rémy Brandy grew by 155% and entered the chart in 39th place. Pernod Ricard also reversed Malibu's decline to 46th place in 2021, rebounding to No.33 as coconut flavours regained popularity.
As for the different spirits categories, there were some key changes. Scotch remained the clear frontrunner with 15 places in the Top 50, one more than in 2021. However, vodka only held on to nine positions, down from 11 in 2021. While nine of those positions were in the Top 30 in 2021, in the latest ranking vodka has just eight. Elsewhere, gin and rum have five places each - Gin holding level with the year prior, but rum has made gains in global travel retail, up from four places in 2021 as Cruzan made an entry in 43rd place.
Brands that dropped out of the Top 50 last year include Rémy Cointreau's Metaxa and Rémy Martin, as well as William Grant's Monkey Shoulder, Bayadera Group's Hlibny Dar vodka and its sector peer, Russian Standard from Roust.
