The Stoli brand has found application in cocktails and liqueurs

FKP Soyuzplodoimport, which owns the Stolichnaya vodka brand, has found use for the Stoli brand, which is used by Yuri Shefler’s structures in foreign markets. Under this brand, BryanskSpirtProm can launch a line of liqueurs and cocktails. The volume of this category has tripled in three years, but competition has become tougher, and the Stoli brand may require investment in promotion, experts say.

BryanskSpirtProm LLC (BSP) in October received declarations of conformity for a line of liqueurs and cocktails under the Stoli brand, according to data from the Russian Accreditation Agency. The declarations include Stoli Espresso, Stoli Botanicals, Stoli Aperitif liqueurs, Stoli Chocolate and Stoli Cherry-Chocolate cocktails. Cocktails, the documents say, are made on the basis of GOST “Alcoholic beverages”, which describes liqueurs with a strength of 16%, aperitifs from 12% to 35%, etc., and for liqueurs GOST with drinks with a strength of 15–35% is chosen.

The Stoli brand belongs to FKP Soyuzplodoimport, which owns the brands Stolichnaya, Moskovskaya, Russkaya and others. BSP produces Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya vodkas and also has a license to use the Stoli logo, it follows from Rospatent data. According to data from market participants available to Kommersant, in January-August 2023, BSP increased vodka production year-on-year by 18%, to 817 thousand decaliters.

Now vodka under the Stoli brand, including in various flavors, is produced abroad by Yuri Shefler’s Stoli Group, whose structures were involved in legal disputes with Soyuzplodoimport over the rights to the Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya vodka brands. After the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine, Stoli Group renamed Stolichnaya to Stoli.

Soyuzplodoimport told Kommersant that they see the development of a portfolio of liquor products (LVI) under their brands not only within vodka, but also in other directions, focusing on market conditions. Work on a line of alcoholic drinks under the Stoli brand has been going on “for some time”; the company plans to announce the launch of FKP separately, the company says. According to Kommersant’s interlocutor at the market, the drinks are planned to be produced in 0.5 liter bottles in a price category corresponding to Stolichnaya vodka.

According to Rosalkogoltabakcontrol, retail sales of alcoholic beverages with a strength of 25% or more in January-September 2023 increased by 24.5% year-on-year, to 9.9 million decaliters. Director of CIFRRA Vadim Drobiz notes that in three years the category’s volumes have tripled, to levels comparable to cognac and brandy, but the growth rate is slowing down. According to him, there remains a niche for new brands and it has become easier to promote drinks as the category grows.

The head of the WineRetail information center, Alexander Stavtsev, says that the range of medium-strength alcoholic beverages has grown in response to interest in making cocktails at home and in connection with expectations of the departure of foreign brands. Although such popular brands as Aperol (owned by Bacardi) and Martini remained in Russia, he notes. Marketing Director of Tatspirtprom (Tundra, Russian Currency brands) Elena Slobodanyuk says that the demand for a reduction in alcohol content is generated by young consumers and the company plans to expand the portfolio of its Royal Raven gin in the 23-25% alcohol category.

The owner of the Kaufman brand agency, Stanislav Kaufman, says that all the largest alcohol companies have already entered this category and BSP will face fierce competition, where price and quality will be the determining factors. In addition, it will be necessary to explain to consumers that Stoli is not a new brand, but a variation of a well-known brand, he points out. As Mr. Stavtsev notes, the Stoli brand was invented in the 1970s by PepsiCo, which then received the rights to distribute Stolichnaya vodka in foreign markets. But in Russia it is poorly known, he notes: the popularity of Stolichnaya vodka on the local market is declining, so the new product will require investment for promotion.

Anatoly Kostyrev