Exclusive: Impact Salutes The Drinks Industry’s “Blue Chip” Brands
November 3, 2021Each year, Impact recognizes the drinks industry’s best long-term performers with its “Blue Chip” Brands. To earn honors, brands must show at least 10 consecutive years of volume growth, or average annual compound growth of at least 0.5% from 2010 through 2020 (0.8% for beer), with positive growth in at least eight of those 10 years. In addition, the brands must have maintained gross margins of at least $25 million last year.
This year’s Blue Chip roster features a total of 71 brands, including 31 spirits, 28 wines, and 12 beers. In spirits, the ongoing growth of whiskies and Tequilas has vaulted a number of brands onto the list, and kept growth strong for Blue Chip labels like Crown Royal, Jim Beam, Jack Daniel’s, Jameson, Patrón, and Jose Cuervo Especial Silver, among others. The Blue Chip spirits list expanded to a total of 31 entries, up from 27 brands last year.
While California table wines make up over half of the Blue Chip wine list this year, bottlings from Italy, New Zealand, France, and Argentina also made the grade. Sparkling wines, too, are abundant among this year’s Blue Chip wines, represented mainly by Prosecco and rounded out by domestic sparklers and a single Champagne.
Blue Chip wine brands above 1 million cases include Barefoot Cellars, Bota Box, Black Box, Stella Rosa, Liberty Creek, Josh Cellars, Apothic, Winking Owl, Ménage à Trois, La Marca, Andre, J. Lohr Estates, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, La Crema, Ruffino, Barefoot Bubbly, Joel Gott, Oyster Bay, Diamond Collection, and Decoy by Duckhorn.
The full list of Blue Chip wines, spirits and beers, along with data and analysis, appears in Impact’s October 15 issue. Click here to subscribe.
| Impact’s “Blue Chip” Brands—The Ten Largest Spirits Honorees1 | |||||
| Rank | Brand | Marketer | Type/Origin | Depletions2 2020 |
10-Year AACGR3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tito’s | Fifth Generation | American Vodka | 10,350 | 39.7% |
| 2 | Crown Royal4 | Diageo North America | Canadian Whisky | 7,225 | 5.7% |
| 3 | Jack Daniel’s5 | Brown-Forman | Tennessee Whiskey | 6,819 | 3.8% |
| 4 | Fireball | Sazerac Co. | Flavored Whisky | 6,300 | 48.0% |
| 5 | Jim Beam6 | Beam Suntory | Bourbon | 6,253 | 6.8% |
| 6 | Hennessy | Moët Hennessy USA | Cognac | 5,135 | 9.1% |
| 7 | Svedka4 | Constellation Brands | Imported Vodka | 4,730 | 3.7% |
| 8 | Jameson | Pernod Ricard USA | Irish Whiskey | 3,580 | 13.2% |
| 9 | Evan Williams4 | Heaven Hill Brands | Bourbon | 3,050 | 8.8% |
| 10 | Malibu4 | Pernod Ricard USA | Imported Rum | 2,711 | 5.2% |
| 1 Criteria: (a) At least 500,000 9-liter case depletions. (b) At least $25 million gross margin. (c) Either: (i) At least ten consecutive years of volume growth. (ii) AACGR of at least 2% from 2010 to 2020 and at least eight annual increases the last ten years. 2 Thousands of 9-liter cases. 3 Average annual compound growth rate. 4 Includes flavors. 5 Includes Single Barrel, Winter Jack, Sinatra, No. 27 Gold, Rye, and flavors; excludes Country Cocktails and Gentleman Jack 6 Includes Devil’s Cut, Red Stag, Jacob’s Ghost, and flavors. Source: IMPACT DATABANK © 2021 |
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Tagged : Blue Chips, Impact
