Playing the long game

The recent decline of spirits continues to be big news, yet there are some categories that have bucked the trend. It seems that, where vodka, gin and whisky have lost, tequila and sambuca have been two of the few categories that have gained.

When Nielsen took the pulse of the spirits market in January, it found that the volume of tequila sold in the on and off-trade in the year up to that point was four per cent higher than that sold in the previous 12 months.

This most up-to-date batch of figures also shows sambuca saw an enormous 20 per cent rise in volume sales in the on and off-trade over the same period.

While they are undeniably growing from smaller bases than more mainstream spirits such as vodka, tequila and sambuca brands have pointed to what is clearly a significant shift in consumer attitudes to their products.

Jeremy Hill, managing director of Hi-Spirits, owner of Antica sambuca, admits to being baffled by the growth of the category.

"It's unique," he says. "The growth is significant and has been for about the last 36 months.

"We know who our target market is, but nobody really knows why it's become the drink of choice for those 18 to 24-year-old male drinkers. There has been no really noticeable advertising to that age group."

Longer drinks

So what possible reasons are there for punters taking a fresh look at the likes of Antica, Jose Cuervo and Luxardo? Understand these and you will understand how to exploit the drinkers driving tequila and sambuca's boom.

Brands in both categories have been working behind the scenes to steer the products away from being perceived purely as slammers.

Jeremy says of the chosen format for Antica: "If you had asked me six months ago, I would have said shots. However, we have just launched a range of simple sambuca long drinks."

These involve combinations of its flavoured Antica range, launched in September 2005, with soft drinks - for example, raspberry Antica with lemonade, or banana Antica with chocolate milk.

One such suggestion for a sambuca long drink is to be promoted in the Wetherspoon estate in a new initiative.

On the tequila side, Sauza marketing manager Gareth Brown says: "Shots have always been the classic way to consume tequila.

"But in an age when there is a trend toward long mixed spirits, with a move away from RTDs and back to drinks like Jack Daniel's and Coke, there's no reason tequila can't be part of that."

Gareth's recommended serve - aside from in the classic Margarita - is the Paloma, tequila and a sparkling citrus juice such as Lilt, "which is not just a marketing gimmick, but authentically Mexican".

Jose Cuervo brand manager Helen Facey suggests frozen margaritas are a perfect tequila-based long drink as summer approaches. Cuervo-branded machines to serve the drink are available for hire.More flavours

The launch of fruity Antica concoctions by Hi-Spirits was met with a legal dispute with Trading Standards at the time, but the battle was won, and the flavours have added a more diverse appeal to sambuca, according to Jeremy. "We thought 'how can we take this category further?' So we started to produce sambuca flavours," he explains.

"The argument we put forward to Trading Standards was gin is still gin when it's added to orange, and our sambuca is also still sambuca before we add the flavour.

"Now they're absolutely flying. If you put two on your back-bar, they will do half the sale your Classic Antica is doing, but without sales migrating."

Luxardo, likewise, has benefited from additional cranberry and cinnamon flavours added to its white and black varieties just under two years ago.

In tequila's case, brands are keen to stress that there are diverse variations of the spirit out there for drinkers to discover. Gareth says: "Tequila is a lot more complicated than people think. It's not just about silver and gold.

"There are 51 per cent agave varieties and the more premium 100 per cent agave - and a whole load of sub-sections within those."Going up-market

Mike Beavan, national account manager for Inspirit Brands, owners of Opal sambuca, says the spirit is "being premiumised, rather than being a harsh shot to drink after seven pints". There is a tentative move to sambuca being perceived as a 'cool' brand, according to Mike, who explains: "Would you be interested if you opened a men's style magazine and saw sambuca as a cool brand? But it's getting a lot better."

He points to the credentials of Opal Nera, which never loses its black colour when diluted in an old-fashioned test. Cheaper varieties would not stand up to this challenge, he claims of a brand "which will never drive on price".

Gareth Brown makes the accusation that "cheaper brands have come in in the past and lowered the market. Luxardo has been around since 1821 and sambuca has traditionally been a very refined spirit."

Sauza's argument about the diversity of tequila also applies here, with Gareth Brown saying: "Tequila as a whole is premium. It's always possible to trade up."

New product innovation

More and more product and initiative launches are coming to bear on tequila and sambuca.

Hi-Spirits' partnership with JD Wetherspoon is just one indicator of the moves that brands are making to innovate. Luxardo has come up with, and patented, a layered serve known as the "shotail".

Its flavoured and coloured sambucas, because of different densities, can sit on top of each other in a short glass to create a range of signature shots. These are supported by point-of-sale kits, and licensees that have taken them seem to be finding shotails are driving sales (see box, below).

The buzz around tequila has been sufficient to persuade Inspirit to launch its own "high quality sipping tequila". Mike says that Partida "is currently en route to us from Mexico" and is set for a May launch.

Sambuca companies, such as Antica brand owner Hi-Spirits, are now also marketing their product in long drinks rather than solely as shots.

Top five on-trade (by value)

Tequila​

1. Jose Cuervo Especial Gold

2. Olmeca

3. Sauza

4. Jose Cuervo Classico

5. Sierra

Source: Nielsen, (January 2007)​Top five on-trade (by value)

Sambuca​

1. Luxardo

2. Antica

3. Romano

4. Molinari

5. Opal

Source: Nielsen, (January 2007)​

Shotails case study

Staff at the Crown have been shooting from the hip with Luxardo's shotails.

The pub - located in Ludgershall near Andover, Hampshire - does no food and has a strong shots business.

This has been boosted in the last few months with Luxardo's new signature layered shots and branded shooter belts. Licensee Donna Cummins kits out members of her team with these belts to patrol the floor and distribute the shots, largely to younger drinkers.

The shotails - a brand name patented by Luxardo's UK distributor Cellar Trends - involve layering differently coloured and flavoured sambucas to create a variety of drinks. For example, Luxardo Passione Nera and Luxardo Limoncella makes a Kill Bill, Luxardo Sambuca and Luxardo Passione Rossa makes a Revenge.

The Crown places Shotails menus on tables and uses other point-of-sale material to drive customers to make the choice at the bar.

For Donna, this is one innovation that has made a big difference to her sambuca trade. "They taste better, it's more of a well-known name, the look is appealing, and the belts and branding make a big difference," she says.