Dive Brief:
- Cognac makers are making a bigger push in the U.S. to expand demand for the drink beyond its core demographic in the African American community.
- Producers like LVMH Moet Hennessy, Remy Cointreau, Pernod Ricard, and Beam Suntory have become more aggressive with marketing campaigns in the U.S. aimed at a wider audience, though it has also been important to not alienate the beverage's current market.
- Retail cognac sales in the U.S. are predicted to rise 9% from last year to $5.2 billion, according to Euromonitor.
Dive Insight:
"Cognac suppliers sold 4.1 million 9-litre cases in the U.S. last year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, up 11.9 percent from 2013, which only saw a 3.7 percent gain. It was the fastest-growing segment of a spirits market up only 2.2 percent, though from a small base. The trade group's economist said this year may be even stronger," Reuters reported.
Cognac producers are hoping to benefit from Americans' growing demand for brown spirits, particularly whiskey, as categories like rye whiskey and Kentucky bourbon have in recent years. Historically, cognac had been seen as an alternative for whiskey, and producers are hoping to expand cognac's presence in the cocktail space, particularly as the cocktail culture takes hold in the U.S.
"Nielsen data for the most recent 30-day period suggests that white adult consumers drank 27 percent of the nation's cognac even though they represent 66 percent of the adult population. Black consumers drank 40 percent, though they were only 11.2 percent of the population," according to Reuters.