INTERNATIONAL. Local and Asian brands feature strongly in The IWSR’s Real 100, a list of the top-selling spirits brands in the world by volume, published exclusively in the July issue of The IWSR Magazine.
South Korea’s Jinro soju leads 16 soju/shochu brands in the list to retail its position as overall number one. The IWSR said that aside from baijiu*, these brands are “without a doubt the titans of the spirits world”. Hite Brewery’s Jinro – which now accounts for 2.2% of all spirits consumed worldwide – sold 64.6 million cases in 2011, more than double the second-largest brand globally, Thai Beverage’s Ruang Khao (a popular white spirit in Thailand).
Jinro accounts for 95% of the soju market in South Korea, and its national dominance is mirrored by several of the top-selling spirits in the Real 100. Seven brands in the top 10 sell 90-100% in their domestic market. Ruang Khao and Emperador Philippine brandy (ranked number 6) are only available in their domestic markets. The majority of these brands are low-priced and sell in markets where imports cannot compete on price and local tradition is dominant, according to The IWSR.
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Only three brands in the top 10 are truly international – Smirnoff (ranked number 3), Bacardi (7) and Johnnie Walker (9). These brands have a global penetration without relying on one key market.
Six of the top 10 brands are Asian. China, India, Thailand and the Philippines are all in IWSR’s top five largest growth spirits markets in 2011. There are 45 brands on the Real 100 list which are produced in Asia, most of which predominantly sell in their domestic markets.
India, the second largest growth spirits market behind China, has a total of 20 brands in the Real 100, made up of locally-made whiskies, brandies and rums.
*NOTE: Several Chinese baijiu brands have not been included in this list, as information about individual brands is impossible to obtain from producers, who are regionally based and usually controlled by the government.
Visit the IWSR website for more details.
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