What's your flavor?
In 2005, Poles bought some 30 million liters of flavored vodka, which currently accounts for some 15 percent of the vodka market in Poland. Only five years ago, the figure stood at a mere seven percent. The biggest vodka producers quickly spotted the upward trend and continue to expand their offer with new flavors. At the beginning of this year, the race for customers began with Bols, Finlandia and Absolut all introducing new flavors.
"Vodka drinking is still very popular in Poland, however customs change. Polish consumers more and more often mix vodka with other drinks and search for new flavors. That's why Finlandia keeps introducing new flavored vodkas, which enjoy great commercial success," explains Bibianna Konieczna, marketing director at Brown-Forman Polska, distributor of Finlandia in Poland.
Brown-Forman has just introduced Finlandia Grapefruit Fusion onto the shelves. It is the fifth flavored variant in the Finlandia portfolio and will only be available in Poland, which is the biggest consumer of Finlandia vodka worldwide.
Also, V&S Group is testing its new flavor of Absolut on Poles. Red grapefruit flavored Absolut Ruby Red has just been launched on the Polish market. Sweden - Absolut's home country - is only second in line to try the new flavor.
The leader in the flavored-vodka market, Bols, changed the label design for its Lemon Ice, Mandarin and Forest Fruit vodkas and started a promotional campaign for its new vodka Guarana.
"So far flavored vodkas accounted for an almost insignificant percentage of Bols' sales, much below five percent. But we are seeing positive trends. We redesigned the labels of our flavored products and are promoting Guarana. We expect a lot from the Easter period when Poles tend to buy more premium vodka, the segment Bols belongs to," said Grzegorz Skowron-Moszkowicz, brand manager for Bols.
The value of the Polish vodka market is estimated at over zł.250 billion, but in spite of growing interest in its flavored variations, traditional plain vodka is still by far the most popular and is likely to remain so for years to come.
