Blavod Extreme Spirits (BES) announced that global case shipments for its third quarter increased by 97 per cent from last year, with UK sales of the flagship Blavod Black Vodka increasing by 116 per cent from 2003. This, explained managing director Richard Ambler, was helped along by the controversial television and cinema advert 'Shave me!' that was aired in the Midlands region in England between September and December.
The commercial featured a girl in a bath who asks her boyfriend to "shave" her. Her thighs are seen rising out of water as she submerges her head in a fit of giggles - the image of swirling water turns into swirling Blavod Black Vodka. In the next scene we see the boyfriend preparing two glasses of the Blavod before removing a towel on the girls head to reveal that it is here that the shaving took place, rather than lower down, as had been insinuated. The slogan "Outrageously Smooth" then appears on screen.
"It went down well," said Ambler. Indeed it did; in December the top three UK supermarket chains (Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's) saw Blavod volumes up 125 per cent on last year.
But Blavod is still a relatively small brand with plenty of room for growth. Ambler told BeverageDaily.com that a new contract starting next month for on-trade distribution of the brand with Matthew Clark would add further volumes sales. Matthew Clark is the UK's largest non brewery-owned on-trade wholesaler and is part of the giant wine group Constellation Brands.
Blavod Black Vodka contains extract from a herb called Catechu, found in southern Asia and central and east Africa. The rich tannin from the plant is used to colour the vodka without affecting the flavour.
Sales of the Blavod brand in the US increased by 270 per cent over the same period. The overall growth in shipments was largely influenced by the success of the Players Extreme line of infused vodkas and rums following the redesign of their packaging in August last year.
Additionally, the company's newly signed partnerships with Baroncini and Bruno Rocca wineries in Italy to market their wines in the US have also contributed to the success, the company said. BES now has 9 Italian wineries in its US portfolio. Most of these, claimed Ambler, are expensive enough to not have had their margins knocked too hard by a weak dollar.
Blavod Extreme Spirits was created from the merger between Blavod and Extreme in December 2003. The combined operation has grown through the addition of established brands to its widespread distribution network.
"We are always happy to add safe, niche products to the portfolio that bring in revenue. High-end wine's good, we've had Chateaux Lafite-Rothschild since 2000 - a blessing for anyone. But, you want to be careful about how many introductions you make and we don't want to take on anything in the mainstream markets - like spirits. We'd rather focus on our own brands," said Ambler.
The company has also continued to show consistent growth for Blavod Black Vodka outside of the UK and the US. It is now sold in 42 countries, with Russia fast becoming the next most important.
The next focus - for all vodka brands - will be Poland and other EU accession countries, said Ambler, where until recently imported spirits had effectively been taxed out of the drinks market. Now that these countries are part of the EU, he explained, high taxes and tariffs have been reduced and vodka is fast becoming the biggest seller.