In the 2023 National Liquor News Industry Leaders Forum, Campari Australia’s Simon Durrant notes how the company will have the agility to respond to consumer and customer needs throughout 2023.
In today’s fast moving Australian liquor market, it’s important for suppliers to have their finger on the pulse.
For Campari Australia, this was a core goal in 2022 that delivered multiple highlights for the company, and will continue to be integral to its strategies in the year ahead.
“You have to understand your consumers and customers to know where to innovate – and renovate! We know quality never goes out of fashion and we’ll continue to build our brands to suit the Australian drinking culture,” said Simon Durrant, Managing Director for Campari Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands.
“Our marketing programs are based on the latest consumer insights, directing our support to deliver the most impact for our brands.”
Some of the positive impacts Campari Australia saw in its portfolio in 2022 came from aligning with the latest consumer tastes and preferences. One example Durrant noted was a shift in drinking behaviour, with people seeking out better experiences and higher quality ingredients while exploring cocktail culture and experimenting with different spirit serves.
Wild Turkey was a brand that certainly delivered on these trends last year, with the launch of the Wild Turkey Discovery Series offering a fresh take on bourbon RTDs for drinkers seeking lighter flavour profiles. Then there was also the super-premium Wild Turkey 12 Year Old Bourbon and Master’s Keep One, meeting the needs of drinkers trading up into exceptional experiences.
Durrant described the impacts of other trends of the year too, noting: “Younger consumers continued to seek out ‘better for you’ options. This included seltzers such as our Truly Lemonade, with lower calories, alcohol, and sugar, and no/low alcoholic drinks such as Crodino, providing consumers looking to moderate their drinking with a complex, non-alcoholic aperitif with real flavour.”
It’s through these trends that Campari Australia is setting the innovation stage for the year to come, especially as it reflects on how hard seltzer continues to find ways to “intrigue and inspire drinkers”.
“There will be an opportunity to innovate in the white RTD space, building on the substantial growth of the seltzer category to date and we’ll look to fuel the growth of tequila as a premium spirit through new offerings,” Durrant continued.
But it’s not just the products themselves that will benefit from Campari Australia’s agility. Another key focus will be partnerships, such as the Aperol Music Platform in conjunction with Live Nation that creates immersive experiences in the on-premise, and the SKYY Vodka partnership with the Australia Sail GP team.
There’s also a desire to improve not just what Campari Australia offers to the industry, but to improve the industry itself through Campari Academy, which ramped up its efforts in 2022 and has events scheduled all throughout 2023 too.
“We’ll have a continued focus on education led by our Campari Academy, driving deeper cocktail knowledge to deliver better drinking experiences,” said Durrant.
Overcoming challenges
Despite Durrant noting “enormous positives” of 2022, Campari Australia was not immune to the challenges most of the industry has been facing, with global supply chain issues impacting several products.
Durrant thanked customers for their patience as Campari Australia successfully overcame these challenges, looking ahead to an opportune year for further collaboration.
He said: “We can’t wait to embrace the New Year and we look forward to working closely with our customers and the many consumers who love our brands to deliver some great drinking experiences.”
Find more from the 2023 National Liquor News Industry Leaders Forum here.