The maker of some of the world’s most refined whiskeys is rebranding itself as it tries to dominate the global market for a more downmarket drink: the canned cocktail.
Suntory Holdings Ltd.’s New York-based Beam Suntory subsidiary will change its name to Suntory Global Spirits on Tuesday, removing Beam from its name a decade after it bought the US-based bourbon brand. The unit aims to grow its $5.5 billion in global sales to $10 billion by 2030 — with an emphasis on RTDs, or “ready to drink” beverages.
“We want to spread Japanese authenticity, which is so popular in the US,” Tak Niinami, chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings, said in a phone interview. “R&D in RTD is our strength, and has been for more than 30 years, as we study to how to put flavors together with alcohol. It sounds like a very easy task, but it’s not.”
Suntory said the change didn’t stem from any weakness in the Beam name and won’t alter its commitment to the Jim Beam brand.
But whiskey isn’t growing as quickly as RTDs, and Jim Beam hasn’t been growing at the same rate as some of Suntory’s other whiskey brands. The company said in February that Jim Beam’s sales grew 3% year-over-year in 2023, while fellow bourbon Maker’s Mark grew 10% and its Japanese whiskies had “strong double-digit sales growth.”
RTDs are ramping up as consumers move beyond simple malt-based hard seltzers like White Claw. From 2020 to 2022, the volume of RTD sales by liters grew by 20%, and dollar sales grew by 46%, according to data from Euromonitor. Whiskey grew just 8% by volume and 30% in dollars. Though whiskey is a much larger market globally by dollar sales, consumers quaffed almost twice as many liters of RTDs as they did whiskey in 2022, Euromonitor data shows.
Suntory started selling canned vodka drinks called -196, pronounced “minus one nine six,” in Japan in 2005. The brand uses a patented “freeze crush infusion” technology — at -196C (-320F) — to extract flavor from whole fruit.
The company expanded -196 to Australia in 2021, adding China and a handful of US states in 2023. This February it announced it would accelerate the brand’s global availability, bringing it to around 21 states, and launching it in the UK and Germany around spring. The brand will also be in Southeast Asia by the end of the year.
In the US, -196’s packaging was recently updated to say, “Legendary in Japan. Now crafted in the US,” to appeal to consumers who associate Japan with quality. The cans also feature Japanese lettering.
Broader category
Suntory sells a wide range of products in Japan in the broader beverage category — many through its ubiquitous vending machines — but some offerings such as teas and energy drinks aren’t available in the US. Asked if the company might introduce more products in the country, Niinami said it’s “under consideration” but the decision will be up to the company’s publicly listed subsidiary, Suntory Beverage & Food.
Suntory Global Spirits, which will continue to be led by CEO Greg Hughes, owns high-end whiskey brands like Yamazaki and Hibiki — among the world’s most expensive — as well as the more affordable Jim Beam. Other RTD drinks made by the company include On The Rocks Premium Cocktails and Jim Beam Kentucky Coolers, available only in US markets. It makes a low-alcohol drink, Horoyoi, that’s sold in Asian markets but not the US.
