Why are agave and whisky winning the US premiumisation race

Premiumisation in the US spirits market is being increasingly dominated by two categories – agave and whisky – thanks to a combination of factors including product diversity, strong reasons to buy and powerful brand leaders with high levels of badge value.

In the context of a relatively static market – IWSR analysis reports that spirits volumes in the US were essentially flat in 2022, with value rising by only +4% in an inflationary environment – the growth of whisky and agave spirits at the high-end has been impressive.

Combined, super-premium-and-above whisky and agave saw volumes increase by +14% in 2022 (on top of growth of +23% in 2021), according to IWSR. Breaking this down by price band, prestige-plus (US$200+) combined volumes rose by +15%; prestige (US$100-200) was up +12%; and ultra-premium (U$45-99.99) climbed by +23%.

Looking forward, super-premium-plus agave spirits volumes are poised to grow roughly twice as fast as whisky between 2022 and 2027, meaning that the market for agave spirits at these price points will have grown fivefold in a decade.