President and CEO of national distilled spirits trade
association, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), Peter
Cressy, noted in the DISCUS U.S. Market Report for 2014 that premiumization
across all categories continued to be a strong source of consumer interest.
Another important driver of the sector’s growth – characterized by data points
such as a reported 4 percent uptick in supplier sales to over $23 billion last
year and a 2.2 percent rise in total sales volume to 210 million cases – has
been the emergence of small distillers, bringing unique concepts into the
market and inspiring an organic surge in the overall spirits category.
U.S. retail sales of distilled spirits were around $70
billion last year and strong consumer interest in cocktails, as well as
improving market access and modernization factors, have contributed to an
estimated 3.7 percent growth in the export market too, marking the fifth
straight year of such export growth. Vodka in particular has shown renewed
interest, with cocktails like the Bloody Mary, Strawberry Cranberry Mule and
Vodka Martini in high swing, alongside an ongoing boom for American whiskeys,
giving rise to more consumption of evergreen favorites like the Mint Julep, Old
Fashioned, and Whiskey Sour. Flavored vodka sales were actually off last year,
but the more mixable, traditional vodka volumes grew on-pace with exports,
showing 3.7 percent growth year over year.
Nearly half the global alcoholic beverage market is
currently dominated by a 40 percent branded drinks footprint according to
Transparency Market Research. A footprint featuring powerhouses like
Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), which generates over $1 billion a year from
16 of its top brands alone, as well as the world’s largest producer of spirits,
Diageo (NYSE: DEO), and private company Bacardi, the name of which is almost
synonymous with rum, thanks to the popularity of its eponymous white rum.
Diageo, which gets about 13 percent of its entire sales volume from vodka, is a
perfect example of how important brands are in this game, with both the world’s
best-selling vodka and the world’s best-selling blended Scotch whiskey,
Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker respectively, among its lineup.
It is into this market that The Aristocrat Group Corp. (OTC:
ASCC) has stepped with its brand management division, Luxuria Brands, a local
Idaho distiller, Distilled Resources, and a bold strategy to bring a series of
ultra-premium vodkas to the mass market. Outstanding, high-class vodka without
the high-class price tag is a solid strategic move by ASCC to tap into the $5.5
billion and growing U.S. vodka market. The company’s focused branding strategy
looks good right out of the gate as the company moves to develop, bottle, and
distribute a unique selection of fine vodka products worldwide.
The company’s flagship vodka and the first of two distinct
vodka brands, RWB Ultra-Premium Handcrafted Vodka (http://www.rwbvodka.com), is
an award-winningly delicate and smooth, ultra-premium vodka made from the
highest quality Idaho potatoes. Produced using a unique four-column
distillation process that results in a perfectly balanced and eminently mixable
vodka, RWB Ultra-Premium Handcrafted Vodka has become a fast favorite. In
eye-catching bottles that really pop out on shelves, this living vessel of
traditional craftsmanship speaks directly to the widest market of vodka lovers
and is rapidly winning more and more retailers, with the biggest distributor in
North America currently handling the product’s proliferation.
The Aristocrat Group’s newly announced Big Box Vodka,
distilled from Idaho winter wheat through a continuous four-column distillation
process and then packaged into an innovative box for convenience and
portability, brings the same quality of smooth and crisp ultra-premium vodka to
a market segment historically associated with wine: bag-in-box. Whether it
stays in the freezer for easy dispensing and mixing at a party, or if it is
carried on-the-go to events like Fourth of July festivities, this ultra-premium
vodka in a spouted, 1.75-liter box that is twice the volume of standard 750 mL
bottles, is an ingenious combination of innovative packaging and a superb
spirit.
Intent on rolling out this market segment-defining product
during the summer in the most populous U.S. regions, including via retailers in
California, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada and Texas, The Aristocrat Group is
grabbing the bull by both horns here, confident that its strategy for capturing
significant market share in the vodka space is indeed quite sound. The
company’s recent announcement that it will showcase RWB Ultra-Premium
Handcrafted Vodka at a major cocktail festival this July 15 to 19 in New
Orleans, an event which will captivate the attention of the entire spirits
industry for five days, only adds to the company’s already well defined
marketing.
Existing marketing like the RWB Racing effort, whereby the
company is racing with a professional prototype program including drivers
Robbie Kerr and Nicholas De Crem, is another example of the kind of brand
presence reinforcing work ASCC is involved in around the promotion of their
vodkas. Engaged in via the Dawson Group, the only team running a professional
Radical SR9 and slated to compete in Tudors Sports Car Championship and World
Endurance Championship class races, this marketing effort helps flesh-out the
brand identity and give it a unique appeal.
Take a closer look by visiting www.aristocratgroupcorp.com
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