“Although typically seen as a ‘wind-down drink’, brandy is consumed on a wider number of occasions than whisky and we’re seeing experimentation in the on-trade as more contemporary offers such as the French Mojito join classic brandy cocktails such as Sidecar and Brandy Alexander,” says Dickson.
In summary, KWV’s Hegarty says: “The challenge for the brandy sector is to shed its tired image and become relevant and interesting again for today’s consumer. That means it must present itself as a credible alternative to other mainstream spirits. The intrinsics of quality brandy such as the KWV range give it a decisive advantage in this regard.”
Torres Maczassek says: “The brandy category has been traditionally seen as a local category, so the most important challenge and also opportunity is to become a relevant category within imported spirits. In Asia we already see an interesting development where brandy can co-exist together with Cognac.”
Sauvage agrees: “There is a lack of novelty and innovation within the French brandy category, which suffers from the competition of other spirits and even of other brandies.” Brandy is such a diverse category, it is difficult to generalise but brands need to work hard to establish their quality credentials. Otherwise, they will remain local, national and possibly cheap.
