Six Times the Power of Value Brands

Imagine the sound of a million cash registers ringing at Happy Hour. It’s a glad jingle to contemplate all right, but it is merely a drop in the bucket of global spirits sales in the on-premise alone.
    This common, daily occurrence throughout the hospitality industry is driven by the revenue by volume of well and popular brands, in addition to the much higher price per pour commanded by premium, super-premium and luxury spirits in all the spirits categories. Yet without value brands behind the bar, holding up the center as it were, the collective ringing would be nowhere near as zen or as rewarding for owners and operators.
    Almost by definition, value brands are those unique and one-of-a-kind spirits poured on-premise that push all the patron hot buttons at once. They offer exceptional value for the price, for one, and they exceed expectations as to taste while defying being categorized by price or so-called quality.
    Whether it is Canadian whiskey or Polish vodka, American bourbon or tequila from Mexico, value brands long have held their profit ground somewhere in the middle of the on-premise hierarchy of sales. And they deserve the respect and consideration of every operator or bar manager for their proven ability to win over a loyal customer to a given brand and category while providing an entrée for the house to trade that customer up to new spirits heights all the while. 
    It’s common sense if not an insider secret behind the bar that owners and operators who trade on the exponential power of super-premium spirits need their value brands just the same and all the more, really, to create growth and repeat business and profit ad infinitum.   

The Profit Is Out There
    Identifying true value brands that offer the ultimate bang for the buck all around is not always easy, but neither is it rocket science. For obvious reasons, spirits companies don’t usually identify their brands by their sliding scale of worth to patrons or proprietors.
    Yet common to the portfolios of most of the major players, and certainly all of the spirits houses with diversified holdings of any depth, are those rare distilled offerings by the bottle that are easy on the pocketbook yet legendary in their ability to win the palate and patronage of today’s more discerning customer. Read on to discover or rediscover six value brands to take to the bank.

Early Times Kentucky Whisky — It’s been around since 1860, when it was first distilled outside of Bardstown, Ky. But only recently has the hectic pace of modern living brought out the smooth “good old days” appeal of Early Times Kentucky Whisky, with its trademark smooth taste profile achieved –– different to the bourbon it was until 1983 –– through its aging in both new and seasoned American oak barrels. Fans have come to know and love Early Times from Brown-Forman, and the suggested retail price of under $10 also is enough to make the most frugal bar manager wax nostalgic.
    “Our consumers look for a whisky to reward them for their hard day’s work.  We at Early Times take pride in rewarding them with smooth, mellow Kentucky whisky that provides a great taste at a great price,” says Allen Ogburn, Early Times brand manager. 

Jim Beam Black —  Jim Beam Black is an honest, 86 proof, and it’s aged a full four years longer than JB White. What clinches its true value brand status, however, is price. It sells for around $18 per 750-milliliter bottle, varying somewhat market to market. JB Black enjoys something of a cult legend in bars and clubs, owing to a Kentucky bourbon distilling tradition that goes back seven generations to 1795. The legacy and ever-growing, global popularity of Jim Beam Black stem from a first-rate bourbon-drinking experience that is as authentic as it gets. In 2005, the Beverage Testing Institute gave Jim Beam Black its “Highest Rated Whiskey” distinction in a crowded and highly competitive bourbon category.
    Along with JB White and Black, the Beam Brands’ portfolio also includes a Kentucky quartet of small-batch super-premiums — Knob Creek, Booker’s True Barrel Bourbon, Basil Hayden and Baker’s Bourbon, to make bourbon sales sing on-premise.

Burnett’s Vodka — A value brand in the vodka category is a true friend and ally behind the bar for any venue, given that vodka represents slightly more than 25 percent of all U.S. spirits sales period. And Burnett’s Vodka from Heaven Hill Distilleries qualifies by price and performance in the on-premise channel. It is quadruple-distilled and triple-charcoal filtered to achieve both quality and clarity in the finest tradition of the spirit, Heaven Hill’s Josh Hafer says. “If vodka in its truest form is supposed to be neutral grain spirits, them Burnett’s gets close to that end result.” Priced at $10 per 750-milliliter, Burnett’s Vodka and the most extensive line of flavored (Burnett’s) vodkas (all priced at $10) on the market allow the house to meet or exceed customer cocktail expectations at  lower costs per drink over premium and super-premium vodka brands.
“Burnett’s Vodka has enjoyed double-digit growth over the last nine years and a 13 percent jump in the last year alone,” Hafer says. “Clearly, the message is beginning to get out about the brand.” 

Polar Ice — McCormick Distilling Co. has a solid track record for creating and marketing popular and high-quality products at value prices in a number of spirits categories. The motto of this Weston, Mo., distillery is,“Premium doesn’t have to be expensive.”
    And McCormick  is living up to that creed with Polar Ice vodka, a value-brand standout and import introduced from Canada and Colby Distilleries in 2000. Like all spirits in the value-brand category, Polar Ice is priced right, at around $12.95 for a 750-milliliter bottle. Yet with Polar Ice, now in about 25 states in the United States and advancing slowly, the value also extends to  a  proprietary distillation process that results in a smooth, clean vodka with the taste and mix-ability of a super-premium. “It is a great vodka, and it is well priced,” says Howard Kirke, VP external affairs, Corby Distilleries, the makers of Polar Ice vodka. Sales growth rates for Polar Ice have been running about 40 percent annually, and most recently have accelerated to 60 percent, Kirke says.

Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin — Brands come and go but quality delivered consistently at a great price usually wills out in the end. At about $10 for a 750-milliliter bottle, Seagram’s Gin is the No. 1 gin in the United States, racking up sales of 2.77 million nine-liter cases in 2004. One of the original extra dry gins, with a palate-pleasing taste derived from its exclusive mellowing process, Seagram’s Gin is the sort of value brand that works for venues in good and slack economic times for the gin category. For example, sales of Seagram’s were up 4 percent despite the gin category being off 1 percent, according to Nielsen Scanner data for the 52 weeks ending this past January.

Crown Royal —