Vodka Market : Presentation Team and Introduction

Vodka, comes from the Slavic word, “little water”, this beverage is composed primarily of water and ethanol and from his first apparition, in the XIV century, and today the market has grown to become one of the most competitive brand battles in the distilled spirits industry. Indeed the vodka market appears to accounts for nearly one quarter of all distilled spirit sales and the growth doesn’t show any sign of deceleration.  The entire vodka brand from lower cost to ultra premium keep thinking about their strategic brand management to face the issue of this huge market and to catch new customer.

Unicorn team has decided to focus on this market to highlight how vodka brand manage their strategy to increase their market share.

UNICORN Team

Which is the strongest vodka in the world?

Already well established in the market Whisky, Scotland tries to glean other world records in the market of spirits. Pincer Shanghai Strength vodka, distilled in Scotland Pinch, is only forecast for the Chinese market and can claim to hold the title of the strongest vodka in the world.

Vodka Balkan 176  with 88% alcohol volume was made dethrone by 88.8% posted on Pincer Vodka bottles. The number 8 is considered lucky in China, which would explain distill all the marketing appeal of vodka close to pure alcohol.

The packaging of this gold and black bottle of vodka, sold one hundred euros (£ 85), has been well-designed. The composition of vodka matches perfectly with the elegance of packaging : Pincer Vodka  is distilled from pure water and grain Scots and enhanced with extracts of rose thistle (the symbol of Scotland) and elderberry. She remains close to normal values of vodka with 38% alcohol by volume.

On the other hand, thrill seekers can now buy vodka Naga Chilli from Master of Malt, a UK spirits reseller. That might be the strongest vodka in the world because during the distillation, Naga Jolokia

Indian Peppers were added to the brew.

The whole was filtered and bottled. Now, on the Scoville scale -measure for determining the strength of piments- this vodka is considered "explosive", with a force of 200,000 « capsaïcines », the components of chili.

In July 2012, Master of Malt had released another spicy vodka, the 100,000 Scoville Naga Chilli. Proud of his achievement, the brand's efforts were multiplied to serve twice as strong drink.

Since October 2012, the 50cl bottle costs €50. Moreover, a warning message is posted on the website to warn consumers and to clear itself of any incident : Spicy !

10 things to know about Vodka

We all know a wine expert, masters of spirits able to explain the difference between a scotch and a bourbon; Beer "doctors" taking all their holiday in Belgium. However, it is rare to meet a real connoisseur of vodka. This is your chance, thanks to us, you will forge a real knowledge about this mysterious Polish alcohol. You will thank us later ... You are welcome ! 

1/ Vodka is the most consumed hard liquor in the world

Every year, there are hundreds of millions of bottles sold worldwide. Vodka is far ahead from whiskey because it is present in many cocktails (Bloody Mary, Cosmo, etc.)

2/ The best vodkas are made from potatoes  

According the rankings, gourmet vodkas are those made from cereals. It's all the cliché of the "potato liquor" which falls into the water, since almost all the plants rich in sugar or starch can be used to distill vodka. It is like saying that the best wine contains no grapes....

3/ Until 1865 vodka was sold only in buckets of 12 liters 

It was clearly NOT the same relation to alcohol at that time ...  

4/ Vodka freezes at minus 114 Celsius degrees (minus 173,2 Fahrenheit degrees)

If you want to do some "vodka ice cubes" for fun, you will need a really good freezer !

5/ A liter of vodka does not weigh 1 kilo as we might think but 953 grams

Too bad our scales doesn't make the same mistakes ...

6/ Vodka should not be kept more than a year 

Vodka is not allowed to age like wine or whiskey. We keep it in freezer and not in a cellar. 

7/ We lend to the famous chemist Mendeleev the ideal alcohol dosage in vodka

 

Dmitri Mendeleev was in charge of "Weights and Measures" in Russia and signed a doctoral thesis on water and alcohol combinations. Marketing has done the rest, suggesting that it is the scientist who ruled that a rate of 38% alcohol was ideal. It is unfortunately wrong. 

8/Vodka has often helped for many other uses

The purity of the alcohol has done a good alternative to treat the wounded during various wars and has even helped some Poles  to use it as an aftershave.  

9/ The origin of vodka is told in the legend of "Vladimir: the butcher" 

A bit of knowledge, it doesn"t hurt anybody ! 

 

10/The Russians do not all say "na zdorovie" when they clink glasses with vodka 

But "vashe zdorovie" ("Cheers") for the first drink then "za milyh dam" ("For beautiful women") for the second.

Now you know everything !

Most important vodka consumers per country

Vodka: an Art, a Ritual / Tasting vodka in Russian

Vodka is an absolute must drink in Russia. But for Russian, vodka is not just a beverage. Vodka is also related to a ritual, and in certain circumstances, has its peculiarities, its meanings, we do not drink anyhow !!!

The consumption of vodka is part of a lifestyle in Russia. It is preferable to drink it cold, as cold as possible so that it loses its bitterness, the bottle should be fogged. 

In Russia, the first thing men begin to ask others when drinking vodka together is:  

"Do you respect me?"

When someone offers a glass of vodka, it is essential to accept it ! the refusal is an offense for the master of the house. It is customary to accompany the glass of vodka with a pickle, a piece of cucumber, tomato or something to taste. We do not place it in the glass as you put a slice of lemon in the Martini with an olive possibly, but eats separately. Between two glasses.

Vodka does not sip. It "swallows"! In one gulp, "bottoms up" or "cul sec" as we say in French. 

Before swallowing vodka, inhale air through the nose and then exhale it through the mouth, and at this time, quickly drink vodka, which gives you a few seconds of a very warm and strong sensation.

Artisanal Russian vodka is called : "Samogon", it is stronger and can have up to 90% Vol. alcohol.... Very special !!! 

Good thing to know : for some, like Churchill or Putin, vodka is also a negotiating tool to soften the manners and thoughts !

And it is not uncommon in Russia, business men drinking vodka at the end of a successful negociaiton. Please do not refuse the glass ....

 

 

Na Zdrowie !

   

Vodka in China

Vodka is an emerging market in China ,even if it’s still well behind the Whiskey, in deed the coming generation from 80’s and 90’s  will provide an important increase to this market. But this rise has already start  according to International Wine and Spirit Research, in 2015 Chinese people will buy nearly 7.7 billion liters of spirits which represents an increase of 8% compared to 2009 figures.

Here is the market share of the most famous vodka brand in China: 

Lets now have a look on the key players in the Vodka Market in China. What they have done to attract chinese customers trough many kind of limited editions: 

ABSOLUT VODKA:    Absolut 72 designed by Gao Yu young pop art artist. From August 6 2010 the date when this bottle was launched, more than 350000 bottle has been sold in China. 

SMIRNOFF: The Bristish group Diageo has teamed up with Shui Jing Fang to produce a premium vodka in the city of Chengdu using a combination of Russian and Chinese techniques. Paying tribute to the golden age of China during 1930's the Vodka was named "Shanghai White"

Beside of that when you speak about SMIRNOFF in China this Vodka is mostly associated to the best expatriates bars and clubs in major Chinese cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing.  So it's clearly a clubbing positioning that SMIRNOFF has also choose for China as we can see in this video from the event " Vodka experience Shanghai" launched in 2005: 

THE RISE OF UPSCALE BRAND OF VODKA IN CHINA:

What's important for chinese people about Vodka isn't the taste or the origin so it's not on those arguments that Vodka need to communicate but more on the values of purity, luxury and social distinction. Here 3 examples of brand which have clearly understood this Chinese specificity. 

The vodka made by Fashion TV: 

Launched in 2010 by Michel Adam, President of the Fashion Tv Chanel, this Vodka called "the elixir of fashion", was very focused on the jet set market. Distributed only in the trendiest club the target was clearly the fashionistas, stylist...

Now we can find this Vodka bottle mostly in expatriates clubs, and in many event about fashion, luxury and design. As we can see on the video below, an event organized by Fashion TV. 

The design and the packaging of this Vodka bottle has well found the chinese market, through an image of fashion and luxe which maybe would be not work in other European countries for example. 

The Ice Fox Vodka: 

This Vodka is produced in the U.S and distilled in Northern California. Fastly the Ice Fox Vodka has known a huge success in China thank to the bottle design first. But this vodka has bring a new communication on its subtle taste. As Chinese consumers gain more knowledge about the vodka taste and aromatic notes, Ice Fox Vodka fills the need for a premium vodka in the Chinese market.

42 Below Vodka: 

As Ice Fox Vodka, 42 Below vodka communicates slightly about its origin and its "purity" very appreciate argument from chinese population. 

In the same way this Vodka is aiming to attract an audience with Vodka knowledge looking for intellectual distinction. 

In this example the brand image is less "jet set" and "clubbing" certainly because 42 Below Vodka is looking for the emerging market segment of consumer in major Chinese cities: the hipsters. 

To conclude, Vodka market ,even if it's still well behind Whiskey or Cognac market... , has a great opportunities to develop in China. Thank to relevant communication based on a clear positioning, Vodka brand has a great potential to find a position in this market. 

Sources: http://marketingtochina.com

The new strategy of Absolut

Absolut is a vodka brand purchased by Ricard in 2009. That's why Absolut has totally changed its marketing strategy since 2009.

Its new strategy deals with a premium line. Indeed the goal is to attract more vodka consumers and build a new brand image. Absolut created a very high-line brand for Out-of-Home Consumption market in order to align with Grey Goose and Belvedere. This new brand is called "Elyx". Nowadays classic Absolut is more intended to supermarkets and hypermarkets. To keep its customers, limited editions are created at the end of each year.

In 2014, it's the Andy Warhol Edition.

2013 Edition

Elyx bottle

However, working with artists is not new for Absolut.
Since the 80's, Absolut have worked with artists. Its ask to artists to create experiences. That's why Absolut has strong connections to nightlife. That's we call "experiential strategy". For instance, a challenge given by Absolut to artists is to create a bar. By creating a art project, people remember the brand

Sources : Absolut official website, fastcompany.com, The Economist