Building the tequila tribe

The drinks market analysis company IWSR recently forecast a “bright future” for tequila in Australia. While the US will dominate global consumption, across the board consumption will be focused on super-premium-and-above price points. Higher-value product segments such as 100 per cent agave tequilas and cristalinos – aged tequilas stripped of their colour by charcoal filtration – will feature, it predicts.

Globally, spirit volumes are set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of two per cent to 2026, but tequila is predicted to expand at a CAGR of seven per cent, the report says.

Ewen Pettit is the co-founder of Superdrop, an independent drinks company intent on creating and building brands that “disrupt categories, cultural norms, and drinker preferences”. He is a seasoned beverage industry professional, having worked for some of the multinational businesses and iconic brands, including the development of hard seltzer White Claw in the US in 2015.

His co-founder, Lachie Goldsworthy brought his own heft to the business having been part of the team behind Balter Brewing and more than 20 years in business brand and identity creation.

The pair’s first project was creating an Australian vodka that was grain forward and cocktail enhancing.

“We wanted to wrap it around in a contemporary, Australian, simple, confident, egalitarian brand. We called it Idle Hour, with the brand platform of “waste time well”,” he says,

The brand has had major success, winning awards and being chosen as the official vodka of the Australian Grand Prix.

Next on Pettit and Goldsworthy’s list was tequila. Pettit had worked as a consultant for a US drinks company on the spirit so had clear ideas of what he wanted to create. The result was Delgados Tequila Soda.

“We import the tequila from the Orendain region, one of the four original tequila distilleries or “godfathers” of tequila, and then mix it with our Delgados product. Our proposition is a ‘mouthful of Mexico’ with a strategy to not to be a margarita. It’s very tequila forward, not like the nightclub tequila of 15 years ago, in three flavours – Pineapple and Ginger, Grapefruit & Jalepeno, and Lime & Basil,” he says.

Delgados became Australia’s first tequila soda, and the official partner of the UFC. Pettit was also recently in the US investigating a possible launch.

Superdrop then released Tequila Soldada, a blanco or silver tequila, also sourced from Oridian, positioned as a premium mid-tier offering. The second SKU for that brand was Soldada Café Express, a tequila coffee liqueur.

Pettit acknowledges that while the US has long dominated the tequila market, Australia is emerging and its popularity here isn’t limited to a specific age group.

“Right now, people are margarita drinkers not skilled drinkers, which certainly allows us to continue pioneering emerging categories. But we see older drinkers who are more interested, often whiskey drinkers exploring and intrigued by tequila, especially reposado and anejo categories” he says.

Pettit says he holds a lot of focus groups, both here and in the US, to gauge consumer awareness and interest in tequila and other spirits.

“There is so much opportunity in Australia to develop the tequila market. The US is a very sophisticated market, the language and lexicon of tequila is well understood. We’re not there yet,” he says.

For Pettit, the endorsements like the Grand Prix and UFC are about reaching a much bigger audience quickly. With Soldada, the company is looking to connect with the music festival circuit.

“We are always looking for cultural tribes to then grow the affinity and emotional connection to our brands. Australians have a huge amount of interest in Mexican culture, which works for us,” Pettit said.

With the growth of premium tequila and consumer sophistication, the spirit has real potential in Australia. 

This story first appeared in the October-November edition of Food & Drink Business magazine.