Jägermeister jury still out on extending brand’s first ever RTD line
The 78 year-old German herbal liqueur brand sold 89.2m 700ml bottles of the 35% ABV spirit (made with 56 herbs and spices) in 2012 (up 2.5% on 2011), and is the world’s best-selling liqueur, while it holds seventh place in Impact International’s top 100 premium spirits rankings.
Foreign sales accounted for 80% of 2012 sales (across 90 countries), with the US the brand’s largest market, while Jägermeister notched up 6m+ bottle sales in Great Britain, and Spain, Russia the Czech Republic showed double-digit growth in some areas.
And with Brazil, South Africa and South Korea also posting above average or “outstanding growth”, why did Jägermeister choose to launch its first ever RTD products in Australia and New Zealand?
‘We’re trying to offer a convenience product’
(These drinks – in ‘Raw’ and ‘Ginger Lime’ varieties (one is pictured) are 6.5% ABV and contain guarana extract – in a nod to Jägermeister’s success with energy drink mixers – and other 100% natural ingredients.)
Michael Eichel, director of corporate communications, at the Wolfenbüttel-based firm, told BeverageDaily.com: “Australia is a huge RTD market, one of the biggest in the world, and has a huge convenience market so to speak. So that’s why we chose to launch there.”
Asked if Jägermeister had plans to launch the RTD drinks elsewhere, Eichel said: “This has not been decided yet. So far we are offering the RTDs in Australia and New Zealand.”
Talking about the RTD drinks themselves, Eichel said Jägermeister was “trying to offer a convenience product, since we know that many people already enjoy Jägermeister as a long mixed drink”.
“So from our perspective it’s a logical step to offer a convenience product such as an RTD.”
Discussing why Jägermeister chose to include guarana in its RTD lines, Eichel said: “The combination of Jägermeister and an energy drink is quite common, and on the other hand for us it was extremely important to offer a 100% natural product. Because that is what Jägermeister is.”
“When we discussed the possibility of launching RTDs, we said ‘it’s vital that we offer an 100% natural product.”
But Russians favor ‘ice cold shot’
In November 2012, one Consumerama blogger hinted that the Jägerbomb craze was passing, and cited examples of US and UK adverts last year – he is skeptical as to their potential success – where the brand suggested that consumers simply drink Jägermeister straight and ‘ice cold’, in chilled shot glasses.
In light of such comments, to what extent did Jägermeister attribute its global sales success to the popularity of its mixture with Red Bull, where a shot of the spirit is dropped into a glass containing an energy drink (beer is also used) to produce the popular Jägerbomb cocktail?
“That depends very much on the market. We know in the US and UK it is quite common to drink Jägermeister in combination with an energy drink,” Eichel said.
He added: “On the other hand, looking to Eastern, Southern Europe, Russia, South and Latin America, it’s not common. People there enjoy Jägermeister as an ice cold shot.
“Yes, we know that in some markets this energy combination is common, but this does not occur globally.”
