The Luxury Brand Index (LBI), a tool created by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) to analyze sales of spirits brands by volume at the top end of the distilled spirits market, shows luxury brands grew 37 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the same quarter of 2021.
“The gradual uptick in on-premise cocktail occasions continued to drive premiumization trends into the first quarter of 2022,” said Christine LoCascio, DISCUS chief of public policy. “Consumers who chose luxury brands when experimenting with at-home cocktails during the height of the pandemic have maintained their preference for these special brands while enjoying spirits at bars and restaurants.”
2022 First Quarter Category Trends
Key highlights of the LBI 2022 First Quarter Report include:
- Consumer fascination with Tequila continues to soar with the Mexican spirit achieving a 63 percent annual growth rate followed by American Whiskey at 46 percent.
- With the lifting of the retaliatory tariffs in June 2021, Scotch Whisky continues its strong rebound in the U.S. with a 34 percent growth rate after showing losses during the period when the tariffs were in effect.
- Cognac growth slowed slightly with an annual growth rate of 18 percent, Irish Whiskey increased by 15 percent, and Japanese Whisky remained nearly flat.
FIVE-YEAR CATEGORY TRENDS
Over the five years between the first quarter of 2017 and 2022, all spirits categories included in the LBI increased annual growth ranging from 5 to 46 percent, with an average rate of 23 percent.
The LBI was first launched at the DISCUS Annual Conference in October 2021 and is released quarterly to provide insight to the beverage business community, analysts, and media. The LBI tracks the volume sales of spirits brands that have a 750ml retail price of $50 or more. Retail prices were calculated by IRI Worldwide using retail scanner data. Volumes were derived from DISCUS’ proprietary brand data.
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