Russian Standard made its ambitions clear for its new Russian and Polish vodkas – through its 2013 acquisition of Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC) – at a press briefing in London, yesterday.

 

On 5 June 2013, Russian Standard Corporation completed its acquisition of Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC), adding more than a dozen brands to its portfolio. As a result Russian Standard is now said to be the ‘second-largest vodka producer by volume in the world’ with over 34mn 9l cases of products sold annually in over 80 markets.

 

TRBusiness had the privilege of sampling some of the more recent additions to Russian Standard’s portfolio, namely Imperia, Green Mark, Parliament and Żubrówka, at the Bob Bob Ricard restaurant in London earlier this week.

 

Although the company is still in the early stages of building the presence of the relatively new brands in travel retail, it has already witnessed some success with Polish Bison Grass vodka, Żubrówka.

 

SAMPLING SUCCESS

In April last year, Russian Standard launched a sampling programme for Żubrówka across Nuance’s European airport network, focusing on Lisbon, Geneva, Zurich, Malta and Antalya airports. Retail theatre and sampling was also introduced at Gatwick and Manchester Airport.

 

This was followed by the introduction of an attractive Enchanted Forest limited edition sleeve, which was launched exclusively across global travel retail.

 

According to Drinks International, Żubrówka was the fastest growing global vodka in 2014. During the tasting Andrew Notcutt, Global Travel Retail Marketing Director, Russian Standard, revealed that Russian Standard hopes to build on the strong distribution, investment and activation – which saw it promoted at 14 European airports in 2014 – in 2015 with ‘further expansion’.

 

Notcutt told TRBusiness that the company sold 20,000 9L cases of Żubrówka in 2014 and the ‘Enchanted Forest’ limited edition ‘was an incremental third of that in airports’. He Notcutt also said that mid-market Russian vodka brand, Green Mark – popular in local markets – is doing well in border shops in Europe. Green Mark and fellow new Russian vodka, Parliament will be launching on Baltic ferries soon.

 

MILK AND CHARCOAL FILTRATION METHODS

Wheat vodka, Green Mark, filtered through birch charcoal, is apparently the ‘best-selling mainstream vodka in Russia’. Parliament, which is known for its distinctive soft taste achieved through milk filtration, is very popular in Germany, which has a preference for Russian vodka.

 

TRBusiness was also lucky enough to sample Imperia, which is one of Russian Standard’s Super Premium vodkas, but is also thought to be a good candidate for those trying vodka for the first time. Its subtle and ‘feminine’ character meant that it was one of the favourites during the tasting session in London.

 

TRBusiness was also re-familiarised with the Russian Standard vodka brand, which recently launched Gold as a travel retail exclusive. By far the most successful brand in the company’s portfolio, in 2013 the International Wine and Spirits Report (IWSR) named it the third-fastest growing vodka brand in global travel retail. It was also the year in which that the brand hit 200,000 nine-litre cases for the first time.

 

According to Andrew Notcutt, Global Travel Retail Marketing Director, Russian Standard – who spoke to TRBusiness at the end of last year – Russian Standard has a ‘disproportionally’ large market share (10%) in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA). It is also the fifth largest vodka brand in travel retail just behind Bacardi’s Grey Goose.

 

‘AUTHENTIC AND BELOVED VODKA BRANDS’

Russian Standard Founder and Chairman Roustam Tariko, is now hoping that the company’s CEDC brands may hope to reap similar rewards. “We now have the most authentic and beloved vodka brands in the most important vodka homelands – Poland and Russia,” said Tariko, of the acquisition.

 

“As the vodka category continues its global growth, our diverse portfolio will be able to satisfy the taste of consumers around the world, from price conscious to premium.”

 

It’s also unsurprising that Russian Standard have picked up Russian and Polish vodkas; Russia consumes 45% of the world’s vodka and Poland consumes eight times as much vodka per head than the UK.

 

According to Tatiana Petrakova, International Brand Ambassador, Russian Standard there are approximately 6-7,000 vodka brands in the world and around 3,000 of them are Russian. Out of those 3,000 brands around 5% are premium brands.

 

It was therefore important for Russian Standard to bring on a mid-market brand, such as Green Mark, as well as premium and super premium brands, to reflect global consumption trends.