Interview, Part 2: Paul Basford, CCO, Pernod Ricard USA
September 9, 2025In the second part of our interview, Pernod Ricard USA chief commercial officer Paul Basford discusses investments in the on-premise and analytics, cultivating clear areas of growth in the U.S. spirits market, and the early outlook for the final quarter of the year at the 15-million-case company.
SND: How is Pernod aiming to gain a competitive edge in the on-premise?
Basford: I think the on-premise is really starting to recover now. It’s taken a few years. We are now stepping up investment in our on-premise team. We are creating an on-premise center of excellence that will bring together agave teams, our prestige teams, and our on-premise national accounts team. That way we make sure we have the right tools for on-premise, which are different to retail.
Advocacy is huge at the moment, given the turnover in the on-premise during and after Covid. A lot of those people were proponents of our brands and we need to rediscover those advocates as part of our on-premise programming. On-premise chains are also a strong part of our business and we will continue to animate in that sense. It’s a shop window for your brand, and it’s where you get the ability to promote trial and really jumpstart brand-building.
SND: Data and analytics are playing a bigger role than ever. How are you approaching that area?
Basford: We are investing heavily in our commercial capabilities. We have a brand new platform focused around data, analytics, and investing in our commercial teams to give them the tools and the system needed to win in today’s market. You have to be more forensic, more data-led, more analytical to chase opportunity now, and we need to equip our teams to interpret the data and synthesize it appropriately. We’re working in tandem with our distributors on using data to understand where the regions, distribution points, and channels are to drive the best opportunities, versus a one-size-fits-all strategy.
SND: How is the industry outlook from your point of view heading into year-end?
Basford: Sometimes I think we get lost in the current rhetoric around whether it’s consumers in general or Gen Z not drinking as much. From a total spirits market and consumption perspective, the market is 17% higher than it was pre-Covid, which is huge.
RTD will undoubtedly continue to drive growth moving forward. Tequila will continue to progress, Bourbon will continue. And other categories like Irish and Scotch whiskies and gin will make a resurgence at some point.
We are seeing small sizes as a new part of the ongoing strategy. It means consumers can still access premium brands in a different way. We are seeing the 100-ml., 200-ml., 375-ml. doing really well in that context. It’s a great trial vehicle. So for brands like ours that are more premium-priced than most, we have an opportunity to bring a consumer in that might not want to spend the $30 to $40 a bottle initially, but will happily spend the $10, $12, $15 to access a brand that they believe they might like. We see it as a really strong vehicle for future consumer adoption.
SND: What does Pernod Ricard USA have in store looking into next year?
Basford: I think you’re going to see a strong year of development based on these commercial moves. You’ll see the brands of Jameson, Absolut, Glenlivet continue to be strong growth proponents. And you’re going to see some really exciting innovation as we look down the track. We’re really excited about what that will bring to the trajectory of this business.
