What’s the headroom for growth for Spirits brands in the US On Premise?

CGA by NielsenIQ’s latest OPM (On Premise Measurement) research delves into the share that the top 10 brands hold across the Rum, Tequila, Whiskey, and Vodka categories in key states across the US, to highlight the levels of competition and opportunities for new product development within these categories.

OPM is the only fully projected, extensively validated, measure of beverage alcohol performance in the American On Premise. Used to track share and trends by all the leading beverage suppliers, OPM is the most robust view of sales performance for bars and restaurants ever produced in the US.

 

Following a recent enhancement, OPM now includes performance tracking in 15 individual US states, a total of 19 DMAs, measurement across four sub-channels (casual dining, fine dining, bars and nightclubs), and tracking of small, premium brands on an ongoing basis. Alongside these updates, OPM also tracks 9L EQ, total distribution points, and price to ensure brands can understand both brand and category growth drivers, assess market-level execution, and identify opportunities and threats.

 

Using insights from the latest quarter of CGA’s OPM data (to 12/31/2022), it’s clear that across the Spirits mega category, there are significant variations across the mainland US when it comes to the share that the top 10 brands occupy in each state.

 

For the most part, the top ten brands hold a share of at least 60% across the board, but in certain states, they hold a much higher percentage of the market. This highlights that the opportunities within these categories can vary by state for brand strategies, particularly for launching new products across the US.

 

Rum

When it comes to the Rum category, across most states the top 10 brands dominate and hold over 80% share, with the exception of California (67%) and Nevada (71%) where there’s more competition. In contrast, in Ohio and Pennsylvania, the top 10 Rum brands hold an even higher share (around 90%) compared to the average state.

 

Whiskey

Compared to Rum, Whiskey as a category has a lot more competition across the different states. This is likely due to a number of factors such as consumer tastes and preferences across the multiple subcategories within Whisk(e)y, such as Scotch, Bourbon and Irish Whiskey. California (69%), Colorado (67%), Washington (66%) and Florida (65%) are the states where there is greater competition compared to states such as Nevada and Ohio where the top ten brands hold around 80% share of the category.

 

Tequila

The Tequila category is similar to Whiskey when it comes to the top brands’ share of the category, with CGA’s previous research highlighting how Tequila consumers’ tastes are evolving as they engage with more subcategories and brands. Once again, California (66%) and Colorado (61%) are the states where the top ten brands’ share of the market is the lowest, providing more opportunities for NPD, compared to states such as Illinois (78%) and Louisiana (79%).

 

Vodka

Across the Vodka category, for the most part top ten brands hold close to 80% share of the category, with this being particularly true for larger On Premise states such as Illinois (80%), New York (80%), and Texas (77%). Once again, for the category there is less competition in states such as California (72%), and Colorado (69%).

 

Andrew Hummel, client solutions director – North America, said: “There are significant variations across the categories of Rum, Whiskey, Tequila, and Vodka when it comes to the share that the top 10 brands hold across individual states. CGA’s data can even pinpoint shifts over discrete time periods, to give a view on how the On Premise landscape is evolving on a quarterly or annual basis.

This helps to ensure suppliers can identify competitive markets where innovation and category disruptors could thrive. With the top brands achieving around 60-80% category share in many states, there are also opportunities for these established brands to identify headroom for growth.”

 

For further details on CGA’s On Premise Measurement solutions, along with support in understanding trends at category, segment and brand level within the On Premise, contact Andrew Hummel at andrew.hummel@cgastrategy.com or visit https://cgastrategy.com/unlock-the-potential-of-opm/

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