Asian spirits top world's biggest brands

ASIAN spirits accounted for the largest proportion of brands found in The IWSR's Real 100 – the definitive list of the top spirits brands in the world by volume.  Forty-six out of the world's 100 largest brands hail from the Asia-Pacific region, a development underpinned by growing economies across the region and their vast population bases. 

The IWSR's database is the wine and spirits industry's source of global data and analyses the alcoholic drinks market in over 125 countries. The information in the Real 100, published in the July issue of The IWSR  Magazine, is not only compiled from all published sources, but also from over 1,500 interviews with leading distributors, producers, retailers and other companies relevant to the trade.

"Jinro"  soju  from  South  Korea,  owned  by  Hite  Brewery,  remains  the  undisputed  number  one global  spirits  brand1. Less than 5%  of  its  volumes  come  from  exports. The soju from Hite sells double  the volumes of runner-up Ruang Kao, a molasses-based product from Thailand. 
Dynamic growth for local spirits

The great majority of brands in The Real 100 list are local brands in nature (selling chiefly in one market) and often low-priced. Yet there are also a number of international brands on the list. Diageo-owned  Smirnoff  vodka  is  the  third-largest  global  brand,  and  the  top  international product on the list. Other international brands featuring high up on the list include Bacardi rum (ranked 5th) and Pernod Ricard's Absolut (19th).

This year's Real  100  is  dominated  by  vodka  and  shochu/soju  (sold  chiefly  in  Korea  and Japan), both represented by 18 brands in the rankings.

Other whiskies2 contribute 15 brands. The largest of these is India's market leader, "Bagpiper", followed by "McDowell's" – both owned by UB India. Thirteen of the 15 other whiskies on the list are Indian, again highlighting the dynamic growth of spirits brands within the emerging markets in Asia, and India in particular.

The IWSR chairman Val Smith said: "Rising prosperity and more disposable income are the main reasons for the growth rates of so many Asian brands, and particularly the marked growth of so many Indian whisky brands and the top brandy and rum brands. The banning of country liquor in the southern Indian states boosted the sales of the cheapest IMFL brandies as much produce was simply relabelled.

"Having more cash to spend means the consumer buys better, slightly more expensive local products. The price of these Indian and other Asian staples are still low by world standards and so upgrading is easily affordable."

International spirits post fastest growth
According to The IWSR's recently completed wine and spirits Database 2011, Diageo's Johnnie Walker Scotch was the largest growth brand of all international spirits by volume. Out of the top 10 largest growth brands in international spirits, Pernod Ricard has four brands, Diageo three, and Beam Global, Brown-Forman and LVMH one each.

Johnnie Walker is the third-largest international spirits brand in the world after Smirnoff vodka and Bacardi rum, and the number one Scotch globally. In 2010, global sales were up by 1.2m cases3, +8.5%, to top 15.5m cases. This volume includes the entire Johnnie Walker family. Over 70% of Johnnie Walker's volume growth came from three markets: Brazil, Duty Free/Travel Retail and Mexico. Duty FrMens Running Shoes