Global market review of vodka – forecasts to 2015

The global vodka market had been growing strongly between 2004 and 2008, adding about 30m cases. However, the global recession hit the category hard and sales declined sharply in 2009. Preliminary indications are that the market recovered in most markets in 2010, particularly the large Russian market.

The US remains the paramount market for premium white spirits despite the country’s protracted economic downturn over the past two years. Russia has a super-premium segment estimated to be in the region of 250,000 cases.

Despite repeated claims, there is little evidence that vodka is showing any signs of imminent decline. Its neutral taste and mixability make it an ideal drink in the current US market.

With over 40 data tables providing total consumption volume for all major markets and brands, this latest edition of our popular global market review of vodka provides an excellent overview of the historic, present and future market for the sector. This edition includes five-year historic, actual-year and five-year forecast estimates of volume for each major market plus volumes for the top ten brands and top five companies within each market.

Providing analysis of the latest trends...
The first half of the report looks at the big trends for the sector, firstly explaining the market split of imports versus local products. It then takes a fresh look at premiumisation, suggesting whether there is fatigue in the sector:

Glazer’s Distributors CEO and president Sheldon Stein believes that vodka is maintaining momentum. “We are certainly seeing vodka and Tequila being more and more what consumers are ordering. We are seeing a lot of buyers trying to find the next new exciting product, so there is a tremendous amount of ‘new product entry’ every day.”

This section then goes on to explain how flavours remain a driving force behind the category’s growth, and it concludes with a review of the main companies' recent performance and strategies.

Consistent, in-depth coverage of all major world markets...
In the US, the vodka market is attracting numerous so-called craft distillers. Many of these are small producers. The development mirrors the onset of the micro-beer phenomenon in the US nearly two decades ago, which served to transform the US beer landscape.

In Brazil, there has been some substitution from cachaça into vodka. Cachaça producers have followed by producing their own vodka offerings. Some of these are now selling sizable volumes.

Vodka’s growth in India has led to some of the big national whisky and rum producers, such as the giant UB Group, to focus upon vodka to a greater extent.

This half of the report profiles nearly 30 of the world's largest and most important vodka markets, providing full year-on-year brand- and company-specific volumes for each. The data is complimented by our analysts' thinking behind the data (all of whom have gathered insight locally from each market), giving you an informed opinion on all of the important areas of the industry.

Use this report to:

• understand the size and scope of the market
• identify market and trend hotspots
• know what's driving the trends within the sector
• hear what the leading brands' latest thinking is
• see where the future lies for the sector

Table of contents

Executive summary

The big trends
Imports v local products
A fresh look at premiumisation
Vodka fatigue?
Flavour growth
Main players

The markets

The Americas
United States
Canada
Mexico
Brazil
Paraguay
Uruguay
Peru
Jamaica
Puerto Rico

Europe
Central Europe and CIS markets
Western Europe
The Baltics
Finland

Asia
Australia
China
India
Thailand

The Middle East
The Gulf
Israel

Other markets
South Africa
Travel retail

Appendix A: Vodka market measured by quality and flavoured variants

Appendix B: Other CIS markets

List of tables
Table 1: World vodka sales by total volume consumption - world total and by major market, 2005-2015 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 2: Top ten vodka brands in United States by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 3: Top five vodka brand owners in United States by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 4: Top ten vodka brands in Canada by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 5: Top five vodka brand owners in Canada by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 6: Top ten vodka brands in Brazil by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 7: Top five vodka brand owners in Brazil by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 8: Top ten vodka brands in Russia by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 9: Top five vodka brand owners in Russia by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 10: Top ten vodka brands in Poland by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 11: Top five vodka brand owners in Poland by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 12: Top ten vodka brands in Germany by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 13: Top five vodka brand owners in Germany by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 14: Top ten vodka brands in France by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 15: Top five vodka brand owners in France by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 16: Top ten vodka brands in United Kingdom by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 17: Top five vodka brand owners in United Kingdom by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 18: Top ten vodka brands in Lithuania by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 19: Top five vodka brand owners in Lithuania by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 20: Top ten vodka brands in Finland by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 21: Top five vodka brand owners in Finland by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 22: Top ten vodka brands in India by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 23: Top five vodka brand owners in India by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 24: Top ten vodka brands in travel retail by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 25: Top five vodka brand owners in travel retail by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 26: Global vodka market by quality segment, 2000-2004 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 27: Global vodka market by quality segment, 2005-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 28: Top 30 vodka markets - proportion of flavoured vodka, 2000-2004 (%)
Table 29: Top 30 vodka markets - proportion of flavoured vodka, 2005-2009 (%)
Table 30: Top ten vodka brands in Armenia by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 31: Top five vodka brand owners in Armenia by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 32: Top ten vodka brands in Belarus by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 33: Top five vodka brand owners in Belarus by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 34: Top ten vodka brands in Bulgaria by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 35: Top five vodka brand owners in Bulgaria by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 36: Top ten vodka brands in Czech Republic by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 37: Top five vodka brand owners in Czech Republic by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 38: Top ten vodka brands in Kazakhstan by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 39: Top five vodka brand owners in Kazakhstan by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 40: Top ten vodka brands in Romania by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 41: Top five vodka brand owners in Romania by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 42: Top ten vodka brands in Ukraine by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 43: Top five vodka brand owners in Ukraine by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 44: Top ten vodka brands in Uzbekistan by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)
Table 45: Top five vodka brand owners in Uzbekistan by total sales volume, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases)

Related research categories

By sector: Vodka (in Spirits)

By market: Global