Chivas to emphasise premium in relaunch

by Samuel Solley, Marketing 06-Oct-04

Chivas Brothers is relaunching and extending distribution of its 18-year-old Chivas Regal whisky brand, to take advantage of what it claims is a global premium spirit boom.

The packaging of Chivas Regal is to be redesigned and the whisky given a new name, Gold Signature, to acknowledge Chivas' master blender, Colin Stout, whose signature will appear on the bottle.

Supported by an international advertising campaign, the relaunched whisky will be introduced into a wider range of outlets within key markets from later this month. It will cost 50% more than the company's standard 12-year-old whisky.

Promotional on-trade activity will focus on consumers identified as being ready to 'trade up' to the more premium product; the spend will come from Chivas's global 45m euro (£31m) annual marketing budget.

The Chivas Regal range increased worldwide sales by 11% for the six months to 30 June 2004.

According to International Wine and Spirits Record, the growing trend in premiumisation is indicated by the growth in spirits, including vodka and scotch whisky, where major super-premium brands are growing between 15% and 50% a year.

Martin Riley, international marketing director for Chivas Brothers, said it is aiming to 'double volume of Chivas Regal 18 over the next three to four years'.