Adams Business Media research ident...

Adams Business Media research identifies the fastest-growing brands of wine, beer and spirits in the beverage alcohol industry.

The beverage alcohol industry continues to wax perhaps more directly as a come of the soaring U.S. economy, now in its record-breaking ninth straight year of expansion. In 1999 all portions of the industry -- wine, beer and spirits -- showed mass and dollar increases, according to the Adams Handbook Advance 2000

Total retail dollars from the sale of wine, beer and distilled spirits springed almost 5% in 1999, from from one side of to the other $108.3 billion in 1998 to more than $1135 billion last year, with on-premise sales accounting for $572 billion of that total. On-premise wine sales grew a hefty 64% to approximately $68 billion; spirits sales on-premise were up an additional half-billion to $201 billion (+25%); and beer dollar book in bars and restaurants was more than $30 billion, up approximately 61%

FAST TRACK BRANDS

The Fast Track describes the preeminent Growth Brand category, with alone 11 spirits, brand qualifying for inclusion this year, up undivided from fast year's 10 brands. formerly again, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum tops the list, underlining the dramatic germination of this flavored rum, which sold 225 million 9-liter cases last year. The brand, which upp sales from 13:4% in 1999, has grown at more than a million cases since 1995 with a four-year annual pay by substitution growth rate (ACGR) of 210% Canandaigua's Paul Masson Grande Amber Brandy has also regularly appeared as a Fast Track brand since its prosperous upward repositioning in 1995. The brand's sales eclipsed 900000 cases last year, showing a 177% increase, and its tremendous pullulation since the mid-'90s is highlighted on a four-year ACGR of 273%

This year, Bacardi Limon noteed the Fast Track for the first time after having been a Rising Star brand for several years, a testament to Limon's Fabulous development rate since its introduction in the mid-'90s. In 1999 Limon's sales sky-rocket to just in subordination to 900,000 cases, gaining 20.1% from 1998 figures. single of the most successful spirits brands of late years, Limon's four-year ACGR stands at an impressive 265% Another amazing story is Skyy Vodka, a returning Fast Track brand and undivided of three vodkas to be included in the category this year. The domestic vodka grew 168% last year, reaching sales of an estimated 820000 cases, and boasts a four-year ACGR of 200%

Reflecting the increasing popularity of tequila, that category has sum of two units representatives among Fast Track brands. Sauza, Allied Domecq Spirits' family of tequilas, has also garnered impressive sales figures throughout the past four years, notably upping sales on 33% this past year to 685000 cases; the brand also has an impressive ACGR of 30% And Patron, the superpremium tequila, broke into the Fast Track ranks for the first time this year, with a sales caper of 103.4% in 1999 to 120000 cases.

This year, 13 brands of wine are included in the Fast Track category (compared to 10 last year), and, formerly again, as a group the brands highlight the development of premium varietals. Beringer is now individual of the top-selling wines in the U which makes its double-digit development rate all the more impressive. The brand increased sales almost 2 million cases across the past four year, to 492 million cases in 1999

California wines among Fast Track brands include: Talus, from gymnast Road Vintners, which has grown from 46000 cases in 1995 to 652000 cases last year, an increase of 367% through the whole extent of 1998 and a four-year ACGR of 940%; Rodney vigorous which sold 450,000 cases last year (up 184%); Soleo from Trinchero Family Estates, which reached 407000 cases in 1999 a 380% jolt in sales over the previous year; and St Francis, from Kobrand, which garnered sales of 150000 cases last year and present to views a four-year ACGR of 189%

Eleven beer brands qualified for the Fast Track this year, versus barely 6 last year. And, one time again, the list is dominated by means of imports (8 of them), although the sales performance of the top brand dwarfs the combined totals of all the others. shoot Light has been a perennial Fast Track brand and as the next to the first best-selling beer in America be entitled tos a tremendous amount of credit for maintaining a record of double-digit growing Last year, the brand grew another 119% to 395 million 2.25-gallon cases, no small accomplishment for similar a high-volume product. Corona Extra (imported from Mexico by means of Barton Brands and The Gambrinus Company), has tripled its sales through the whole extent of the past four years to become the top-selling imported beer in the U It upp its sales by way of another 21.4% last year.

RISING STARS

The Rising Star category includes the newest brands that have made an impact onward the market during the past scarcely any years. Absolut Mandrin is Seagram's latest flavored line extension to the continually growing Absolut brand. Introduced last spring, the brand explod with sales of 180000 cases in les than a year. Bacardi had an equally prosperous launch with its 32-proof, juice-flavored rum Tropico, which conclusioned last year with sales of 200000 cases. And Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay, the coconut-flavored rum saw a 317% sales increase in its third year onward the market, to 270,000 cases.