Power Brands 2015: The results (100-95)

We count down the world’s most powerful wines and spirits starting with those drinks at the bottom end of the 2015 Power Brands survey.

The survey is compiled by Intangible Business in partnership with the drinks business, and sees the world’s most influential wine and spirits brands pitted against each other to determine the world’s most powerful based on a scoring matrix.

As previously reported by db, this year’s results showed the declining power of Scotch and vodka, but rising influence of Bourbon, US and Irish whiskey, as well as spiced rum. Meanwhile, Champagne and wine brands also showed a better performance in 2015’s report compared to the previous year.

db will count down the 100 most powerful wines and spirits over the following weeks. Below is the methodology, while you can read about the Power Brands panellists here.

Methodology 

Nearly 200 of the largest brands in the wine and spirits industries were scored by nine panelists to derive a list of the 100 most powerful alcoholic drinks brands. Power is defined by a brand’s ability to generate value for its owner. Value is classified by a series of measures as identified below.

Hard measures

• Share of market: volume-based measure of market share
• Brand growth: projected growth based on five years’ historical data and future trends
• Price positioning: a measure of a brand’s ability to command a premium
• Market scope: the number of markets in which the brand has a significant presence

Soft measures

• Brand awareness: a combination of both prompted and spontaneous awareness
• Brand relevancy: capacity to relate to the brand and a propensity to purchase
• Brand heritage: a brand’s longevity and a measure of how it is embedded in local culture
• Brand perception: loyalty and how close a strong brand image is to a desire for ownership

A panel independently ranked each brand out of 10 on the above measures (10 = high, 0 = low). The scores were aggregated and averaged to reach a total score for each brand. A total score was achieved by multiplying a brand’s weighted volume by its brand score (a derivative of the eight measures of brand strength), within a defined range. The weighting is designed to adjust the volumes to a comparable level.

100. Taittinger

Taittinger seen its volume sales increase over the past year to total 458,000 cases

The Champagne brand has held it’s place as the one hundredth most powerful international drinks label worldwide, having performed well during 2014.

Not only has Taittinger seen its volume sales increase over the past year to total 458,000 cases, but the panellists also felt that the brand has been strengthened – its brand score went up 5%.

Such change may be connected to a continued quality focus, the success of its prestige cuvée Comtes de Champagne, along with its decision to become the official Fifa Champagne in time for last year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Taittinger was taken back under full family control in 2006 and owns 288 hectares of vineyards in the appellation, making it the second largest landowner in Champagne after Moët Hennessy.

You can read more about Taittinger here, and you can see how the Champagne scores in this year’s Power Brands survey below.

Rank: 100
Rank difference: 0
Volume sales (2014): 458,000 cases
Owner: Famille Taittinger
Category: Champagne
Country: France
Total score: 2.2% (0% change)
Brand score: 60% (up 5%)
Share of market: 3.3
Future growth: 4.9
Premium price positioning: 6.6
Market scope: 6.3
Awareness: 6.5
Relevance: 6.6
Heritage: 7.8
Brand perception: 6.5

99. Pastis 51

Pastis 51 was created in 1951 when the ban on anise-based aperitifs was removed in France

Pernod Ricard’s anise brand Pastis 51 slipped down the survey this year primarily due to a volume sales decline during 2014.

Dropping around 200,000 cases, the brand suffered in its recession struck home market, France, where the majority of its sales are made.

Nevertheless, Pastis 51 held its brand score, which remains reasonably strong due to a brand refresh in 2009 as well as Pernod Ricard’s decision to promote the anise in cocktails, such as the 51 Piscine, which sees the spirit served over ice.

Pastis 51 was created in 1951 when the ban on anise-based aperitifs was removed in France. It is, however, the much smaller sister brand to Pernod Ricard’s leading anise: Ricard, which sells around 4.8m cases worldwide, making it the 27^th most powerful drinks brand in this survey.

Rank: 99
Rank difference: -5
Volume sales (2014): 1m cases (down 12%)
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Category: Anise
Country: France
Total score: 2.3% (0% change)
Brand score: 45% (up 5%)
Share of market: 3.3
Future growth: 2.4
Premium price positioning: 4.4
Market scope: 4.1
Awareness: 4.9
Relevance: 4.6
Heritage: 6.9
Brand perception: 5.3

98. El Jimador

El Jimador is the best-selling pure Agave Tequila in Mexico, but worldwide it is significantly smaller than Jose Cuevo

Mexico’s best-selling pure Agave Tequila has suffered a slip in volume sales during 2014, taking El Jimador down the survey by five places.

The brand, which is owned by Brown-Forman, is the least powerful of the major Tequila labels, which are headed by the Beckmann Family’s Jose Cuevo – a brand that sells five times the volume of El Jimador.

Nevertheless, El Jimador has a strong following in its domestic market, helped by its relatively low price. Overall, the results of this year’s Power Brands survey suggest that the Tequila category is faltering, particularly in the key US market, which is embracing brown spirits such as Bourbon and Irish whiskey in place of white spirits from Tequila to vodka.

Rank: 98
Rank difference: -5
Volume sales (2014): 1.1m cases (down 4%)
Owner: Brown Forman
Category: Tequila
Country: Mexico
Total score: 2.3% (0% change)
Brand score: 43% (up 2%)
Share of market: 2.9
Future growth: 3.9
Premium price positioning: 5.1
Market scope: 4.4
Awareness: 3.9
Relevance: 4.4
Heritage: 5.3
Brand perception: 4.6

97. Nicolas Feuillatte

Nicolas Feuillatte is benefitting from growing sales, in turn helped by the brand’s access to grapes in Champagne

Up one place in 2015’s Power Brands survey, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte has benefitted from a gradual increase in sales, particularly outside the French market, where it is the best-selling Champagne.

Now selling 875,000 cases, Nicolas Feuillatte may be a relatively young brand by Champagne standards – it was founded in 1976 – but it is the world’s third biggest Champagne.

Made at, and owned by, the cooperative The Centre Vinicole Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte (CV-CNF), the brand has access to 2,250 hectares of grapes from 5,000 growers at a winery which can ferment as much as 300,000 hectolitres each year.

As reported by the drinks business earlier this year, there is presently a strong focus on quality at Nicolas Feuillatte, with Guillaume Roffiaen, recruited from Champagne Drappier in 2014 to take up a new role as director of winemaking, while a new managing director, Julie Campos, was appointed from within the cooperative at the start of 2015.

Rank: 97
Rank difference: +1
Volume sales (2014): 875,000 cases (up 2%)
Owner: The Centre Vinicole Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte (CV-CNF)
Category: Champagne
Country: France
Total score: 2.4% (0% change)
Brand score: 48% (up 2%)
Share of market: 4.8
Future growth: 4.3
Premium price positioning: 4.4
Market scope: 5.4
Awareness: 4.9
Relevance: 5.0
Heritage: 5.0
Brand perception: 5.1

96. Grand Marnier

Grand Marnier is showing some sales growth, but is still some way off its 2007 peak

Proving that flavoured brown spirits are far from new, Grand Marnier, which is a blend of Cognac with Caribbean oranges, is still relevant 135 years since it launched in 1880.

Indeed, in 2014 the liqueur managed to up its global sales by 1% as it starts to slowly claw back sales to hit the 920,000 case mark, though still some way off its 2007 peak, when it sold over 1 million.

Helping the brand retain its brand strength is Grand Marnier’s market scope – most back bars feature a bottle, wherever they are based ­– along with its heritage, and the high level of awareness among spirits drinkers worldwide.

Rank: 96
Rank difference: -1
Volume sales (2014): 920,000 cases (up 1%)
Owner: Marnier-Lapostolle
Category: Liqueurs
Country: France
Total score: 2.4% (0% change)
Brand score: 58% (up 3%)
Share of market: 2.8
Future growth: 4.3
Premium price positioning: 5.9
Market scope: 6.1
Awareness: 7.1
Relevance: 6.1
Heritage: 7.3
Brand perception: 6.8

95. 100 Pipers

100 Pipers Scotch came in at number 95 in 2015’s survey, 5 places down on last year

Pernod Ricard’s 100 Pipers Scotch brand, at number 95 in the survey, is the least powerful whisky, but still a sizeable spirit in volume terms, shifting around 1.4m cases annually.

Keeping this brand low down in the survey however, is the fact that its sales are achieved in just a few markets, primarily Thailand – where it is the market-leading Scotch – along with its relatively low price positioning.

Nevertheless, despite a slowing of Scotch sales worldwide in 2014, the brand achieved a 5% volume growth compared to 2013 according to Pernod Ricard.

Having said that, the brand has been in long term decline: 10 years ago, at its peak, 100 Pipers sold almost 3.4m cases annually. This trend has ensured that the Scotch was awarded a low score for future growth in particular.

Rank: 95
Rank difference: -14
Volume sales (2014): 1.4m cases (up 5%)
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Category: Blended Scotch
Country: Scotland
Total score: 2.5% (-1%)
Brand score: 46% (+1%)
Share of market: 2.6
Future growth: 3.0
Premium price positioning: 4.3
Market scope: 4.9
Awareness: 5.0
Relevance: 5.8
Heritage: 6.1
Brand perception: 5.1

The panellists

Stuart Whitwell, Joint managing director, Intangible Business

The panel of drinks experts for the Power Brands survey has over 200 year’s combined experience in the global drinks industry. They have been involved with all of the major drinks companies and held positions of responsibility in virtually every market. Between them they hold detailed financial and marketing knowledge of every brand covered in this report, and many more besides. Nearly 10,000 brands were looked at in the compilation of this research, across all markets, in every territory.

Stuart Whitwell, Joint managing director of Intangible Business
Stuart spent 10 years with Hiram Walker in Europe and Asia Pacific,
specialising in brand and market business development projects,
holding various senior positions in finance, business development
and general management, latterly as regional director of finance
and business development for Asia Pacific. Since leaving Hong
Kong, where he set up a consultancy undertaking projects for
Brown-Forman, Pernod Ricard and Jose Estevez in China and the
Philippines, Stuart has carried out many projects for drinks companies such as Absolut, Allied Domecq, Campari, Pernod Ricard, Fortune Brands and Angostura. Stuart is co-founder and joint managing director of Intangible Business.

Alan Craig, Director at Intangible Business
Alan has dedicated his business life to the drinks industry, working for companies including Whitbread and Allied Domecq. He has held numerous senior positions, such as head of customer services for Long John Whisky Distillers, financial controller for brands such as Ballantine’s and Teacher’s and was finance director for a number
of spirits brands including Beefeater Gin and Lamb’s Navy Rum.
He has also been further involved in the drinks industry through his work with Intangible Business.

Allan Caldwell, Director at Intangible Business
Allan has considerable international drinks experience working throughout Europe, North and South America and the Far East.
For 10 years he held a variety of senior, commercial and finance roles and was responsible for numerous business restructurings, acquisitions and sustained profit growth, latterly as finance & commercial services director for Allied Domecq’s Duty Free division. He has since been heavily involved in the drinks industry through his work with Intangible Business.

Malcolm Davis, Director at Intangible Business
Malcolm has held many senior positions in international drinks management, notably in Asia Pacific markets.He has worked at Hiram Walker and Allied Domecq and was a senior director at Harvey’s of Bristol, Suntory and Duval-Leroy Champagne
. Davis read Mods & Greats (Latin, Greek, Ancient History & Philosophy) at Oxford University before joining Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong on their graduate cadre scheme. Transferred to Japan, he cut his marketing teeth on Slazenger sporting goods and various brand development projects, before returning to Hong Kong where he started his career in drinks, becoming responsible for marketing Hennessy Cognac and White Horse Scotch, among others.

Donard Gaynor, Non-executive director at Bord Bia
Donard was responsible for Beam Global’s industry relations and
advancing the company’s growth strategy by building strategic
commercial business partnerships. He retired from the position in
2012, but maintains a keen interest in the drinks industry as well
as acting as a non-executive director for a number of food and
beverage companies. Furthermore Donard served as Senior Vice
President and Managing Director International from 2003 to 2010,
responsible for Beam Global’s international business, credited with
leading the Allied brand acquisition and integration. Prior to joining
Beam, Donard spent nearly 10 years at The Seagram Spirits & Wine Group in a variety of executive leadership positions, including SVP of human resources, CIO, SVP operations and CFO. Donard also helped to lead the sale of Seagram’s global business to Diageo and Pernod-Ricard. Prior to his spirits and wine experience, Gaynor spent more than 14 years in the New York office of PwC.

Lou Applebaum, SVP, strategy and business development, Constellation Brands
Lou oversees the global marketing council and focuses on
commercial aspects of mergers and acquisitions and corporate
strategy at Constellation Brands. Along with these duties, he is also responsible for the strategic planning process which includes updating and internally communicating the company’s overarching strategy, integrating the strategy with the company’s long term financial vision, and working with the operating companies to ensure alignment of strategies across the organisation.

Paul Wayvon, Managing director of Intangible Business, US
Paul Wayvon became managing director of Intangible Business
US in 2008. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with
PriceWaterhouseCoopers in 1982 and earned his MBA with
Michigan State University in 1992. Paul is a former CFO and COO
of major international drinks businesses in the US including Hiram
Walker,Allied Domecq and Fleming Packaging Corporation,
working with brands including Maker’s Mark, Clos du Bois, Callaway,
Bacardi and Malibu.

He is also on the faculty at Bradley University with instructing and lecturing responsibilities in their undergraduate, graduate and MBA programs.

Patrick Schmitt MW, editor-in-chief of the drinks business also joined the panel, and has worked on the report in partnership with Intangible Business since the Power Brands report was launched 10 years ago.