Bacardi predicts premium rum boom

Premium rum is being touted as the next big thing in the spirit sector by Bacardi.

Ned Duggan, Bacardi Vice President Brand Marketing Director of Rums, believes rum has the potential to echo the success of premium tequila, where 58% of tequila sold is at a premium price point.

“We look at tequila and what’s happened there and see a very similar opportunity for rum,” Duggan told Bloomberg.

The company is poised to introduce two new premium rum products and relaunch an existing brand to push the category upmarket.

The two new products are Reserva Añejo Cuatro, aged at least four years, and Gran Reserva Diez, aged at least 10 years. Bacardi is also revamping Reserva Ocho, with a packaging refresh.

“Our aim is to ignite the resurgence of rum across the world,” Duggan said. “We see our rum as more than a brand, and that’s why starting a dialogue around the premium rum movement is more than just business - it’s personal. With our deep history and heritage, Bacardi has all the ingredients, product offerings and responsibility to usher in this new wave of premium rums.”

He adds: “Maturation happens faster in warmer regions. Our rums tend to age faster than most whiskies or scotches, which are typically aged in cooler climates. Often, you’ll find that a rum has the same level of depth and character as a whisky or scotch that is aged twice or three times as long.”

The challenge, admits Duggan, is to convince consumers to spend more on their rum. 

“About a third of those premium-spirits consumers do drink rum, but they trade down when they do,” he said. “What this shows us is that as a category, we’ve been leaving a lot of business on the table.”

Total rum volumes in the US have declined 3.6% over the past four years, however super-premium lines jumped 34% in the same period according to the Distilled Spirits Council.

Bacardi North America regional president Pete Carr addressed the 42nd Annual Impact Marketing Seminar earlier this month with a presentation entitled: “Two Sides to Every Story: How Bacardi Got Its Swagger Back.”

Carr began by highlighting the group’s recent $5.1billion acquisition of Patrón Spirits, then turned to Bacardi’s rum portfolio, unveiling the new Reserva Añejo Cuatro and Gran Reserva Diez expressions.

“We’re placing a huge bet on rum premiumisation,” Carr said. “Rum is the last category to premiumise, and we think there’s a $550 million category opportunity.”
IWSR backs rum revival

The Global Rum Insights 2018 report from just-drinks and The IWSR, released earlier this month, also predicts the category is set for a much-needed resurgence over the next five years.

Between 2016 and 2021, it expects most of rum's top 15 markets to expand.

"Among the leading markets, France is likely to be the big mover, overtaking both Canada and the UK to become the world's second-largest market (excluding low-priced) by 2021," the report says.

This shift towards higher-price echelons is being helped by increasing consumer curiosity about the category's geographical and flavour diversity, as well as brands tapping into rum's helpful associations of provenance, history and lifestyle with an array of new products, especially within spiced, flavoured and sipping rum.