Smirnoff named 2017's biggest vodka brand

Diageo's Smirnoff vodka has retained its title as the world biggest vodka brand on the 2017 drinks business Top 10 Best-Selling Vodka Brands list.

While volumes dipped slightly in 2016, down 1.16%, Smirnoff still sold more than double the volume of its nearest competition, Pernod Ricard's Absolut. 

According to latest IWSR findings, vodka accounts for 29% of the world’s spirits category, however there has been a 4.3% drop in sales in recent years due to a slowdown in key markets such as Russia and Poland.

Despite vodka’s industry slump of late, there is still strong and steady growth in its biggest brands, Smirnoff and Absolut.

According to Euromonitor’s Spiros Malandrakis: “The weight of the category is still in Eastern Europe and Russia is dragging that global figure down”, he told the drinks business.

However, Malandrakis predicts that the Chinese market promises huge potential for vodka growth if properly utilised. 

“It obviously has a historic association with white spirits but the Chinese consumer has yet to adopt that – it’s been around for a while and it’s yet to be realised.”

Contrastingly, the UK and the US have seen steady growth in vodka sales, particularly for premium vodka.

According to the most recent Nielsen data, vodka sales increased across the UK off-trade by 1.1%, £12.3m in the 52 weeks to 12 August 2017, with flavoured vodkas taking the lead, accounting for 36% of growth.

Similarly premium brands accounted for 76% of the UK growth, growing at 9.2% despite being only 9% of the market, compared to 0.3% for standard brands.

Another successful vodka trend according to Malandrakis is the shift towards healthy and natural choices among consumers.

“Now it is about organic and natural associations that have a connection to the narrative of the brand or the place it comes from, rather than saccharine waves of flavour that helped destroy the category and probably drove the mainstream brands [down],” Malandrakis points out. “So we will continue to see vodka flavours, but at a moderate pace.”

Indeed, Smirnoff and Absolut have both adopted a shift towards more natural and healthier alternatives, with drinks like Smirnoff Pure, and Absolut’s Botanik range incredibly popular among health conscious consumers and millennials. Both brands include a more exotic range of flavours that allude to health like ‘cranberry apple soda’ or ‘ginger lime soda’. 

Here’s the full list of the top 10 best-selling vodka brands, according to the drinks business:

1. Smirnoff (Diageo)
The world’s biggest vodka brand by far is Diageo’s Smirnoff, at a colossal 2016 volume of 25.50 million 9L cases.

2. Absolut (Pernod Ricard)
Absolut’s 2016 volume was at an incredible 11 million 9L cases.

3. Khortytsa (Global Spirits)
Ukrainian-made vodka brand was at a 2016 volume of 7.51 9L cases, up 3.02% from the year before.

4. Żubrówka  (Roust)
Poland’s favourite vodka, Żubrówka has seen a solid 15.45% growth from 2015, now at 7.10 million 9L cases.

5. Krupnik (Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits)
The Eastern European vodka brand was at a 2016 volume of 4.4 million 9L cases, up a whopping 10% from the previous year.

6. Svedka (Constellation Brands)
The Swedish brand was at a 2016 volume of 4.335 million 9L cases, up 4.71% from the year before.

7. Pyat Ozer - Five Lakes (Alcohol Siberia Group)
The Russian brand’s 2016 volume was at 4.2 million 9L cases

8. Grey Goose (Bacardi Martini)
Grey Goose’s 2016 volume was at 3.98 million 9L cases.

9. SKYY (Gruppo Campari)
Skyy’s 2016 volume was at 3.9 million 9L cases.

10. Belenkaya (Synergy)
Russia’s Belenkaya vodka was at 3.72 million 9L cases in 2016, achieving a 7.27% growth from the year before.