Blavod looks for opportunities in Eastern Europe
countries as lands of opportunity, reports Kim Hunter
Gordon.
The company, which has pursued a high-profile publicity campaign, has seen consistent growth for its Blavod Black Vodka brand outside of the UK and the US. It is now sold in 42 countries, with Russia fast becoming the next most important.
The company says that the next focus - for all its vodka brands - will be Poland and other EU accession countries, where until recently imported spirits had effectively been taxed out of the drinks market. Now that these countries are part of the EU, high taxes and tariffs have been reduced and vodka is fast becoming the biggest seller.
Blavod is still a relatively small brand with plenty of room for growth. Global case shipments for its third quarter increased by 97 per cent from last year, with UK sales of the flagship Blavod Black Vodka increasing by 116 per cent from 2003.
Sales of the Blavod brand in the US increased by 270 per cent over the same period. The overall growth in shipments was largely influenced by the success of the Players Extreme line of infused vodkas and rums following the redesign of their packaging in August last year.
Managing director Richard Ambler said that a new contract starting next month for on-trade distribution of the brand with Matthew Clark would add further volumes sales. Matthew Clark is the UK's largest non brewery-owned on-trade wholesaler and is part of the giant wine group Constellation Brands.
Additionally, the company's newly signed partnerships with Baroncini and Bruno Rocca wineries in Italy to market their wines in the US have also contributed to the success, the company said. BES now has 9 Italian wineries in its US portfolio. Most of these, claimed Ambler, are expensive enough to not have had their margins knocked too hard by a weak dollar.
Blavod Black Vodka contains extract from a herb called Catechu, found in southern Asia and central and east Africa. The rich tannin from the plant is used to colour the vodka without affecting the flavour.
Blavod Extreme Spirits was created from the merger between Blavod and Extreme in December 2003. The combined operation has grown through the addition of established brands to its widespread distribution network.
