Lucio Co’s Keeper dominates PH’s imported spirits business

Retail magnate Lucio Co’s Keepers Holdings, Inc. (KEEPR) controls 74 percent of imported spirits by volume and 66.9 percent by retail sales value in the country and is expected to drive growth in the local consumption of spirits which is expected to reach ₱50 billion by 2025, according to a global benchmark for beverage alcohol data and intelligence.

In its recent market research on the market for beverage alcohol in the Philippines, Drinks Market Analysis Limited (IWSR) said consumption of spirits grew from ₱91.70 billion in 2017 to ₱114.10 billion in 2019, and ₱116.30 billion in 2020 in terms of retail sales value.

Total consumption of spirits in the Philippines continued its increase in 2020 amid the global pandemic, noted IWSR.

IWSR attributed KEEPR’s growth to pure third-party distribution arrangements and associated businesses with some of the world’s leading spirits brands. KEEPR anticipates that the forecasted growth in the imported spirits segment translates to direct growth opportunities for its business and operations.

Among the growth drivers of the imported spirits segment identified by IWSR are the leading imported Spanish brandies, particularly the #1 imported brandy in the Philippines – “Alfonso.” KEEPR believes that “Alfonso” will be able to sustain its rapid growth – even surpassing the performance of direct competitors in the wider spirits market in the Philippines – through continued execution of tailored strategies by leveraging the Lucio Co group’s deep understanding of the domestic consumer market.

The research showed that the growth in consumption of spirits by 1.9 percent in 2020 countered the decrease in the consumption of the wider beverage alcohol market posting a 6.3 percent decline in terms of retail sales value.

According to IWSR, the consumption of spirits, in terms of retail sales value, is expected to grow moderately from 2021 to 2025 at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 percent. Imported spirits are expected to outpace the growth of the overall consumption of spirits at a CAGR of 14.9 percent in the same period. In contrast, the local spirits segment is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of only 1.3 percent.

With this trend, IWSR said the imported spirits segment will be holding around 35 percent market share in terms of retail sales value by 2025 – a segment anticipated to be valued just under ₱50.0 billion by the same year.

The IWSR is the leading source of data and intelligence on the alcoholic beverage market. The IWSR’s database, essential to the industry, quantifies the global market of wine, spirits, beer, cider, and RTDs (ready-to-drink) by volume and value in 160 countries, and provides insight into shortand long-term trends, including five-year volume and value forecasts.

The IWSR tracks overall consumption and trends at brand, price segment and category level. IWSR data is used by the major international wine, spirits and beer companies, as well as financial and alcoholic beverage market suppliers.