7/31/2019 Issue 08 Dec-Jan 09 Clearly Speaking - Vodka Market Features

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The current super-saturation o the vodka marketmeans brands need to fnd their point o di erence

and maintain it. Sarah Davey sat in on a round tablediscussion with three industry experts to fnd outhow they see the clear liquid making its mark.

speaking

33drinks trade

Vodka session

7/31/2019 Issue 08 Dec-Jan 09 Clearly Speaking - Vodka Market Features

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Following the excise on ready-to-drink products, there has beenmuch talk of what will happen to the straight spirits industry. A recentDrinks Trade vodka session provided Polish distiller Vitek Czernuszyn of

Vitek Vod ka, i ndust ry r epre sentativ e Do ug Van Tiene n from Barmani a!and training manager Manuel Terron from Southtrade Internationalthe opportunity to talk through a range of different vodkas as well asdiscuss trends they have noted during their time in the industry.

The discussion focused on marketing, with all three men agreeingthat the neutrality of the spirit is a major factor in brand development. Ithink one of the reasons vodka is so successful is because it is the blankcanvas of alcohol, Vitek said. Its the blank canvas on which everyone canpaint their masterpiece. Traditionally, vodka was marketed as a tastelessalcohol. With most of the vodka-consuming markets being in Russia andPoland, there was not a need to identify one brand over another. In todaysmarket, however, the consumer is spoiled for choice and brands needthat special something to differentiate them from their competitors.

Many brands are choosing to focus their marketing around thedistillation process. Youre never going to see a vodka company comeout and say, were tasteless and colourless theres just no saleabilityin that, Manuel said. What are they going to lean on, if not for theprocess? When you look at a clear definition of what vodka is, thereis no notes, no character theres nothing but alcoholic heat.

Pick up any bottle of vodka and on the label you will be sure to find writtensomewhere how many times it has been distilled - but what does this reallymean to those who are purchasing bottles? When I present bartenderswith a new vodka, the first question I am asked is, How many times is itdistilled? Doug said. I say to them, What does it actually mean whenyou ask me that question? and no one can answer it. The team arguedthat while distillation will extract some of the strong alcoholic flavours thatnaturally come through, the process only really needs to be done once.

Once youve distilled the spirit you have eradicated any character, Manuelsaid. After the first distillation, theres really nothing left to eliminate.

While some vodka brands are leaning on the distillation process to marketthe product, it has become increasingly popular to give layers of flavourto the spirit. Manuel noted the tendency for brands to up-sell their flavour.When vodka was first introduced to the market people were saying, thisdoesnt taste like anything, he said. They were the people who enjoyeddrinks such as juniper-heavy gins, austere cognacs and they identifiedwith these spirits because they had certain taste profiles. But the questionasked was whether there was really any way of picking the flavour in anon-flavoured vodka and Vitek didnt seem to think so. At least when youspeak about wine, there are different levels of bouquets and depth, he

said. When I start hearing about the pepper and the berry in a vodka andI like to think I have quite a good palate and nose I just cant find it.

Following a tasting session Doug conducted in Melbourne, 26 bartenderswere presented with different vodkas and were asked to write accompanyingtasting notes. When the results came back, not one bartender had thesame tasting notes as the official version. Asking someone to commenton a vodkas taste is like asking someone how long a piece of string is,said Manuel. Youre going to get different answers from each person.However, brands such as Ciroc have created a distinct flavour profile toset them apart from competitors. By introducing a lemon-peel aspectinto the distillation process the brand is able to market itself as vodkawith a difference, rather than a flavoured vodka. Its that citrus, lemonything that distinguishes it from all other vodkas, Manuel said. Morethan the taste, its very big on the nose. They have created this neutralvodka, I think based on the popularity of flavoured vodkas they haveadded the aspect in without having to call themselves a citrus vodka.

Ciroc is considered by the majority of the market to fit in the luxurycategory. But what is it that defines luxury? Once again, the team put itdown to marketing. The difference between a good vodka and a bad vodkais fairly self-evident, Vitek said. The difference between a good vodkaand super-premium vodka? While there is a growing market that is startingto understand it, unless you are an avid vodka or martini drinker you will,I think, never be able to tell the difference. Manuel agreed, stating thatthe line is constantly blurred especially between a super-premium and aluxury. It takes a true aficionado to taste a vodka and say This is goodquality and then This one is rubbish, he said. It is thanks to this blurredline that brands are jumping to marketing to get their point across.

The ABSOLUT marketing campaign has been touted as possibly themost successful in the world. Everything, from the shape of the bottleright down to the use of the word ABSOLUT-LY in various situations hasgiven the brand exposure across the world. Its extraordinary to whatdegree they took the concept and applied it across everything in life,

Vitek said. The campaign h as be en so su ccess ful that peop le c an id enti fythe brand immediately which makes for extremely powerful presence.

Belvedere has also harnessed the power of marketing. First hitting themarket around 100 years ago, Belvedere was known as the pedestrianspirit and enjoyed by the lower classes in Poland. Originally owned by thePolish vodka promotion board (POLMOS), Vitek grew up knowing the otherBelvedere, and finds it amazing how pure marketing has turned the brandaround. I always have a laugh with my mother about this, because of how itwas seen when I was younger, said Vitek. They have managed to turn thisvodka into what is rapidly becoming the leading vodka in the world purelythrough marketing! Essentially, what the team agreed on was the fact thatimage is one of the most important things when it comes to marketing vodka.What position does for real estate, image does for vodka, Vitek stated.Its about image, image image because thats all theyve got to sell.

Looking ahead for the category, Manuel predicts the gradual reductionof vodka-based cocktails on-premise. He believes this is because vodkadoes not carry the immediate flavours that a gin or a cognac exhibit,

therefore bartenders are limited with what they can do with it. I see themore knowledgeable the bartender becomes, the more they learn to despisevodka, he said. I say that because they can see that vodka doesnt lenditself to their creativity. He went on to say that the trend will most likelybegin in the style bars and have a rippling effect, so that eventually onmost cocktail menus there will only be four or five vodka-based cocktails.

Following the RTD excise, sales for straight spirits spiked and it comes asno surprise that vodka still remains the most popular white spirit off-premise with Doug observing that in the last two weeks his sales were up 30 percenton average. The Drinks Trade vodka session ended on a positive note, withthe team agreeing that coupled with an image accepted by the consumer,there is no reason why vodka shouldnt have a long and happy shelf life.

34 drinks trade

Vodka session

Vitek Czernuszyn, Manuel Terron and Doug Van Tienen at the Drinks Trade vodka session.