The world's fastest growing spirits brand

Baileys has been declared the world’s the fastest growing spirits brand by the Brand Finance Alcohol Drinks 2020 report, recording a staggering 105% brand value growth to $US1.3 billion.

Brand Finance reports: “The brand has committed to its three-year long strategy of repositioning the brand, transforming it to a drink that can be consumed on many occasions. This, paired with the exponential sales growth of the brand over the previous four years, has placed the spirits giant in a strong position.”

First created in Ireland in 1974, Baileys sold its two billionth bottle in December 2019. Baileys is now available in 160 countries. According to Diageo, 2400 glasses of the cream liqueur are now consumed every minute of every day.

Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes noted during a 2020 preliminary results update earlier this month that the company is using consumer insights to understand shifts in consumer motivations and behaviours to boost the performance of Baileys in the current environment.

Diageo has a team of digital marketing specialists that follows what consumers are chatting about or searching for online. Early into the lockdown they noticed high numbers of searches for baking luxurious desserts at home.

The team tipped off the Baileys liqueurs division, which started posting recipes for Baileys banoffee pie and Baileys and ice cream milkshakes. The e-commerce department hooked up links from these recipes to retailers so customers could buy all the ingredients at the click of a button.

As a result, Bailey’s UK sales rose 7.5% in the year.

“When lockdowns drove an increase in baking, we quickly switched on existing Baileys assets,” Menzes added. “We participated in these social conversations and helped people create indulgent adult treats.

“When the Dalgona coffee, originally from Korea, took the internet by storm – the Baileys team quickly created their own version.

“The results were extremely positive. In the three months through June, global engagement with Baileys content increased by an average of 26% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.”

Don Julio is sector’s strongest

While Diageo’s Baileys is the world’s fastest growing spirits brand; its stablemate Don Julio (up 79% to US$958 million) was named the world’s strongest spirits brand.

Available in more than 40 countries, Don Julio has registered a strong sales increase of 14.5% this year, reaching 1.7 million nine litre cases and being subsequently named the Tequila Brand Champion of 2020.

“With a strong brand equity and CSR performance, Don Julio’s success has undoubtedly been fuelled by the brand’s heavy investment in social and digital media for its “For Those Who Know” campaign – the first of its kind in over six years,” Brand Finance said.

The top 10 spirits brands for 2020