Dewar’s Brian Cox On Innovation And The Future Of Blended Scotch
October 5, 2020Though the overall blended Scotch market in the U.S. has been sluggish in recent years, marketers have been making inroads with new consumers lately with a steady stream of innovation. Bacardi-owned Dewar’s has been a leader in this regard, expanding its range at both the high end and in the standard segment. Brian Cox, vice president, Dewar’s for North America, tells SND those moves have been paying off.
“There is much brighter news for Dewar’s and blends in general, especially standard blends, in the past 12 to 18 months,” Cox says. “We’re seeing a new generation slowly but surely enter the category.” He adds that these newer consumers are comfortable in the $20-$30 price range that drew them in when they started exploring American whiskey.
“Dewar’s White Label is impacted by two different demographic cycles,” Cox notes. “There is the 65-year-old and up whisky connoisseurs group and a growing new generation of drinkers. Those drinkers sit in the 30-40-year age range and entered the whisk(e)y market over the past five to 10 years during America’s Bourbon revival. Our 12-year-old was up by high single digits last year and is now—along with the 15-, 18-, and 21-year-olds—in high double-digit growth. This is only increasing since March and the beginning of Covid.” Overall, Dewar’s has U.S. volume of approximately 1 million cases, ranking second behind Johnnie Walker in the blended Scotch segment.
Bacardi has embraced innovation to expand the Dewar’s audience and broaden what consumers expect from blended Scotch. Last year, Dewar’s added Caribbean Smooth, an 8-year-old blend finished in rum casks, and this year the brand debuted Ilegal Smooth, finished in mezcal barrels after maturing for eight years. Price is paramount for Dewar’s innovations, according to Cox, and the recent cask finished innovations’ suggested retail price of $22 a 750- ml. is aimed at appealing to the younger generation with an affordable, interesting, and age-stated whisky.
“For the rest of this year, we predict value and standard should perform better than last year, with flat to low single-digit growth in value. Deluxe 12- and 15-year-old segments increasingly are performing very well indeed, and we anticipate premiumization to accelerate,” says Cox.
At the luxury tier, the Dewar’s Double Double range of 21-, 27-, and 32-year-old whiskies, released last year, retail from $50 to $150 for a half bottle. “The packaging is unique within Scotch whisky,” Cox asserts. “Available for now only in 375-ml. in North America, it allows high-quality, high-age statement to be positioned and ‘discovered’ by consumers at a comparatively accessible retail price.”—Shane English
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