WHO GOT INTO THIS YEAR’S MILLIONAIRES CLUB?

It’s the club every spirit’s brand wants to get into. Drinks International and Euromonitor International have published the Millionaires Club 2O11. The report lists spirits brands that sell over one million nine-liter cases. A record 172 brands made it into this year’s edition – figures are based on 2O1O sales volumes. Pernod Ricard led the way with 21 millionaire brands, followed by United Spirits with 2O brands and Diageo with 14. With 54 brands, vodka overtook whisky to become the largest category on the list. Smirnoff took the top international spot with 24.3 million nine-liter cases – up from 2OO9 but down on 2OO8’s 25.7 million nine-liter cases. The largest brand in the world remains Jinro (a Korean domestic/local soju) with 64.28 million nine-liter cases. The fastest growing international brands include Pernod’s Martell Cognac, up 19.9% from 2OO9. Bacardi’s Eristoff vodka was up 19.5% to 2.27 million nine-liter cases. Beam’s Cour-voisier Cognac took third place. “Brands that have performed best are those with a strong exposure to emerging markets, especially Asia Pacific,” said Euromonitor’s Jeremy Cunnington. “Consequently, the category that has performed most strongly has been Cognac, boosted by strong growth in China and other markets in the region. In contrast, the brands which have performed less well are those which are overly reliant on Western markets.”