ULTRA PREMIUM TEQUILA SHOOTS UP

AMERICANS HAVE a thirst for top-shelf tequilas and it isn’t slowing down. The ultra-premium tequila market continues its emphatic US growth, with sales up 15.5% year-on-year, according to figures from analyst Nielsen. While the ultra-premium end of the market is growing “significantly faster” than tequila in total, the entire category still posted year-on-year growth of 9.1% for the 52 weeks to June 18, 2O16. According to Nielsen, growth in the US Hispanic population is contributing to the category’s impressive numbers. There are currently 37 million Hispanics of legal drinking age in the US, set to increase to 4O million by 2O19. In the on-premise the whole category saw volumes lift 7.3% year-on-year for the moving annual total (MAT), outpacing vodka, whiskey and rum. Consumers’ taste for the spirit was underlined in the Nielsen CGA Consumer Survey, released in April, which found 44% of cocktail consumers named tequila as their top case spirit. In the same survey, the Margarita was voted the top cocktail in the US – 6O% of respondents said they would drink one when at a bar or a restaurant. One of the key brands driving the trend currently is Patron Spirits.