Beverage News
Recipe 21 Vodka Surges Sales with New Flavor
Rochester, NY-based Recipe 21 Premium Vodka has been shaking up the otherwise stodgy value tier with explosive sales and geographic growth. To keep up with growing flavor trends, the brand just added cherry vodka to its comprehensive line-up of spirits.
Aimed at Millennials and the bartenders who serve them, Recipe 21’s sexy packaging, smart positioning, flavor range and premium-level quality have fueled fly-off-the-shelves sales. These attributes have made it a go-to brand for bar managers who want inventive value spirits for their well drinks.
“Our vodka is distilled four times,” LiDestri Food and Drink Product Manager Ricky Tatar said.
“That’s higher quality than many well-regarded vodkas I could mention. So we have a premium product at a fantastic price, which we are finding is overwhelmingly satisfying to our customers. More significantly, it’s generating unprecedented repeat sales.”
Recipe 21 was introduced in New York in 2012. Targeting bars and restaurants, the brand had initial sales of just 1,000 cases. Since then, strong word-of-mouth recommendations and the introduction of a broad size range has helped build its off-premise retail business. Now focusing on both on- and off-premise sales, Recipe 21 is on-pace to sell over 100,000 cases in 2017. The line sold over 80,000 cases in 2016, and moved into several new areas: Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Delaware and Maryland, New Jersey and Florida.
The cherry-flavored vodka is Recipe 21’s 11th product and sixth formulated with quadruple-distilled vodka. In addition to the traditional vodka, it joins Grape and Orange vodkas along with vodka-based Triple Sec and Peach Schnapps.
The cherry flavor is targeted at shot-drinkers. A little more than 20 percent of off-premise vodka sales are now flavored, according to Nielsen research. Cherry vodka is often combined with an energy shot to make “cherry bomb” cocktails, Tatar said, and is also consumed simply mixed with water or tonic for those looking to avoid higher calorie mixes such as soda and juice.
Recipe 21 also sells a 4x-distilled gin, white rum, blended whiskey and silver tequila. Bartenders love how comprehensive the line is, Tatar said, and its value-priced positioning. “Rather than having to hassle with multiple distributors to fill their wells, they can make it much easier on themselves and buy from one,” he said. “Recipe 21 is changing the game in its markets.”
Source: LiDestri Food and Drink
