Constellation breaking bad for big growth in mezcal

Constellation Brands’ has invested a minor stake in Dos Hombres, the mezcal brand started by stellar Breaking Bad duo, Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston.

Cranston and Paul launched Dos Hombres two years ago. The mezcal brand will still be independently owned after the deal. Constellation made the investment through its venture capital arm.

Constellation Ventures Vice President Jennifer Evans said “Our goal is to make strategic, minority investments in high potential brands in growing categories, and the US mezcal market continues to show great potential,”

“We’re excited to further invest in the category with a great team and brand that we feel has a lot of growth runway.”

Holly Inglis, Beverages Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offered her view as well:

“The strategic move by Constellation Brands emphasises the brand’s attempt to grow its own image and be affiliated alongside celebrity status. This is a particularly interesting investment, at a time where many consumers are attempting to moderate their alcohol intake, which has seen innovations move toward low ABV products like hard seltzers. This is pushing brands to innovate in more interesting or novel categories, as we can see with this mezcal investment.

“Mezcal is a unique alcoholic beverage type, which has seen little innovation compared to competitor beverage choices like gin and rum. This category has potential to be a future cash cow as the general consumer climate continues to become more experimental...

“Consumers are increasingly opting for alcohol brands that offer high quality feel with a ‘top shelf’ stamp,” said Inglis.

Last year, the mezcal category grew 14%, according to IWSR with the premium segment the fastest growing of the category.