Dive Brief:
- Brown-Forman Corp. is debuting Coopers' Craft, the company's first new bourbon brand in 20 years.
- Brown-Forman hopes the new brand will follow the same trajectory as Woodford Reserve, which has steadily increased its sales since its own debut 20 years ago.
- Coopers' Craft is bottled at a lower proof than other Brown-Forman bourbon brands like Woodford Reserve and Old Forester. This situates the new brand as an "entry-level whiskey" fit for consumers who aren't yet familiar with bourbon, Doug Petry, co-owner and beverage director at RYE, a Louisville, KY, restaurant, told the Associated Press.
Dive Insight:
Brown-Forman is positioning Coopers' Craft as a premium bourbon that can benefit from consumers' increased demand for both premium spirits and whiskey in general. U.S. revenues for bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and rye whiskey saw a 7.8% increase to $2.9 billion in 2015, according to the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS). That growth was a continuation and slight improvement over 7.3% category growth in 2014.
Brown-Forman reported a slight dip in sales overall last quarter, but its whiskey revenues were strong. That included a 7% increase on an underlying basis for the Jack Daniel's brand, 11% for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, 29% for Woodford Reserve, and double-digit growth for Old Forester.
With this new brand, Brown-Forman is pushing forward with what works in the market today while innovating its brand portfolio. Other recent innovations have included flavored whiskeys, such as Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey and Tennessee Fire.
But judging by the meteoric rise and fall of flavored vodkas in the past decade, there's no guarantee that consumers will continue buying flavored whiskeys in the long term. If Woodford Reserve's growth is any indication, a new straight bourbon brand is a strong hint at Brown-Forman's long-term growth plans.