After falling from last year’s IWSR’s Elite Brands list, Johnnie Walker was quick to recover from the losses: a massive volume increase of over 1.2m cases in 2010 saw the brand jump straight back up to take the top spot this year.
Just 11 brands met the strict criteria of the IWSR’s Elite Brands list this year, one more than last year. Jagermeister, once again the number two Elite Brand, managed to turn around a slight drop in volume in 2009; it gained over 170,000 cases in 2010. With a five-year CAGR of 5.3% between 2005 and 2010 Jagermeister has been a stalwart of the IWSR’s Elite Brands list since its creation in 2007 and much of this is down to the brand’s powerful marketing strategy.
Havana Club and Barcelo, both featured on the list last year, saw double-digit growth in 2010, guaranteeing another well-earned appearance this year. Havana Club’s wide international reach has ensured that poor performances in some southern European countries have been more than compensated for by gains across other regions.
Four vodka brands made the list this year, with Finlandia in the highest placed fifth position, and Sobieski in sixth place. Russian Standard features on the list for the second year running. Despite losing volumes in its home market Russia, the brand saw strong gains in the UK and US markets. Eristoff joins the list at number eight, after gaining 100,000 in the UK market and 90,000 in the turbulent Russian market.
