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“We are appealing to those consumers now in the ‘second stage of luxury’. And there is a sophisticated Chinese consumer looking for something authentic and different.“ |
Mike Birch |
The launch of Tang, Bacardi’s innovative new spirit distilled from green tea leaves, is “an incremental luxury opportunity” for the Chinese market, according to Bacardi Global Travel Retail Managing Director Mike Birch.
As reported, travel retail is the launch pad for the brand, which was inspired by the Tang dynasty, China’s first Golden Age of antiquity and the beginnings of the country’s appreciation for tea. DFS stores in Hong Kong have exclusivity for the new line until May, after which it will be available through selected partner restaurants in China.
Tang is recommended to be consumed neat, at room temperature, without ice, and is said to be a good accompaniment to Chinese food. It is available in a 50cl bottle with a recommended sale price of HK$1,888 (around US$250).
Speaking to The Moodie Report after news of the launch emerged this week, Birch hailed the creation of a “revolutionary” product. He said: “This is totally new: a spirit made entirely from Chinese tea leaves and water. It is distilled from tea rather than having a tea flavour added, and such a product has never been delivered before. It is ground breaking and it’s not until you taste it that you discover that. It’s an incredible piece of work from our combined R&D teams around the world.”
On the target audience, he noted: “We are appealing, as we are on our whiskies, to those consumers now in the ‘second stage of luxury’. And there is a sophisticated Chinese consumer looking for something authentic and different from what the older generation drinks.”
With a small batch production run (2,000 bottles initially), the opportunity is “incremental rather than a spearhead into China,” he added. “It will play well around the story of cultural history and heritage, but I’m also confident that if we can place it before the right consumers, then demand and impact among Chinese travellers will be strong.”
Tasting and sampling will be key to the brand’s early success. “It’s really the most aromatic liquid, with a pleasant rich smell of tea and the taste is exquisite. It’s quite astonishing, so that means our execution revolves a lot around tasting, getting products to consumers’ lips.
“The plan is to execute to a very high standard and DFS is the perfect partner for that. They are strongly committed and if it’s a success as we expect, they would be a logical roll-out partner to build it with in travel retail.”
Birch also said there would be no consumer confusion over the Tang name – which is the same as the orange powder drink popular with sub-continent ex-pats, notably in Middle East travel retail. “Tang is absolutely the right name, with its connections to the history of China the Tang dynasty and tea drinking, all reflected in the design. It’s a new product for a new audience.”
Birch said the launch was “part of our continuing commitment to innovation in areas of potential growth”. He added: “What we at GTR are trying to do is to grow total spirit category sales through all our activities. It’s an easy thing to say but we’ve actually now established a good track record. We have delivered a lot of incremental business through Grey Goose VX, through Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron, our malts are taking off, and with Dewar’s 15, though it is not new, we are exceeding forecasts.
“The growth across those brands is surprising retailers, it is incremental and we have more in the pipeline. Tang is the first step and if successful can be a wonderful addition and something we build on for the future.”
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Tang, distilled from green tea leaves, is Bacardi’s latest brand innovation; the limited edition launch is aimed at the Chinese market | |
