Market Watch, April 2018

24 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM APRIL 2018mwBRAND WATCHSvedkaDespite difficult conditions faced by many leading vodka brands Constellation Brands owned Svedka vodka has remained in positive territory over the past two years The brand reached 44 million cases on 2 growth in 2017 according to Impact Databank Svedka has added more than 1 million cases to its U S total since 2010 and it passed Absolut in 2015 to become the U S markets largest imported vodka by volume Svedka is now the markets fourth largest vodka overall behind only Smirnoff Titos and New Amsterdam It retails at around 12 a 750 ml for the core vodka and flavors with its 100 proof version at about 14 The flagship 40 abv unflavored vodka drives a healthy 80 of the business Carl Evans Constellations vice president of marketing for spirits sees ample potential to increase the brands on premise presence to that end Svedka has been target ing neighborhood pubs and sports bars through its Bloody Mary focused Hail Mary campaign which is also a college and professional football tie in This year Svedka is focused on digital and on premise efforts and will maintain a strong social media presence Evans sees smaller formats as another area for growth We think theres a real opportunity for the on the go smaller size format he says Svedkas latest flavor extension is Blue Raspberry which Evans says is poised to become the brands most successful flavor launch to date Theres a big chunk of the Blue Raspberry consumer thats both new to our brand and new to the vodka category he adds Shane EnglishA To Z WineworksOregon wine volumes have crested 34 million cases with Pinot Noir accounting for nearly two thirds of the states vineyard acreage Among the states key labels is Newberg based A to Z Wineworks whose flagship A to Z brand grew 13 to 285000 cases in the U S market last year according to Impact Databank A to Zs Pinot Noir expression 20 a 750 ml which represents half the brands volume grew by 13 last year Its Pinot Gris and Chardonnay both 15 rose by 10 and 9 respectively and account for most of the rest of the brands volume A to Z is now taking hold as a branded business and resonating with people who are becoming loyal to a single brand says Ron Mertz A to Zs president of national sales Two extensions released for the winerys 15th anniversary the sparkling rosé Bubbles 18 and Pinot Noir label Essence of Oregon 28 have been well received since their soft launch last fall Originally limited editions both labels have since become perma nent additions to the lineup A to Z also offers a Riesling and a Sangiovese based rosé both 15 in its core lineup both representing around 15000 cases of production Were ramping up production on those two labels to meet demand and to ensure we can offer them year round Mertz says This year A to Z plans to focus wholly on its existing lineup We dont want to distract from building our core wines and so far thats been working for us Mertz says In particular were betting on Chardonnay from Oregon becoming a big thing mwJulia HigginsMichtersLouisville based Michters Distillery has emerged as a cult favorite in recent years Despite steady increases in production the distillery sold out of its flagship US 1 Bourbon last year and its US 1 Kentucky Straight rye earlier this year Both whiskies are back on the market this year in slightly larger quantities but remain on allo cation Michters whiskies were third party distilled to custom specifications although since 2015 the company has distilled all the whiskey for its future needs at its 78000 square foot distillery in Louisvilles Shively district Beyond Bourbon and rye the core US 1 range 50 a 750 ml also includes American whiskey and Sour Mash expressions At the higher end Michters offers limited production whiskies like its 10 year old Rye and Bour bon labels 120 150 as well as special editions like the Toasted Barrel Finish rye 75 and 25 year old Bour bon 800 The distillery also offers Shenks Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey 45 and Bombergers Kentucky Straight Bourbon 55 Michters is building a second distillery this one on Louisvilles Whiskey Row and slated to open later this year The facility will feature two copper stills from the original Michters distillery in Pennsylvania and will also offer tours and tastings Through an affiliate Michters acquired 145 acres of land in Springfield Kentucky in December to be used for barrel storage facilities and grain growing with local farm ers Michters eventually plans to release new products showcasing the estate grown grains Christina JelskiMW0418_