
Cognac brands are expected to see comeback in the upcoming year thanks to continued consumption in the United States and China, as well as support from popularity gains in areas such Russia and South Africa. Russia, South Africa, Canada, Indonesia, Nigeria and India are expected to support cognac's continued growth, as the spirit becomes more in demand in these territories. While the general market has seen a decline that will likely persist, premium brands will see an increase over the next five years.
"Of Cognac’s top 20 markets, 14 are poised to post volume gains, including the top five of the US, China, travel retail, the UK and (predicted to have overtaken Germany in 2017) Russia," said Alexander Smith, report author and editor-in-chief of the IWSR Magazine. "Although growth in the US will moderate slightly compared to the past five years, it is predicted to add more than 2m cases in Cognac sales to 2021, moving up at a CAGR of 6.5 percent to hit 7.7m cases.
"After staging a recovery in 2016, China is expected to see sales increase every year to 2021 at a CAGR of 3 percent, reaching 2.6m cases in the process and regaining most of the ground lost following the government’s austerity measures," he said.
Cognac community According to a report from IWSR and just-drinks.com, the cognac industry will see sales grow beyond 17 million cases a year by 2021. KAWS did an illustration for Hennessy Cognac labels in 2011. (Courtesy Photo)
Cognac is gaining more support from new regions
"One of the big movers will be Russia, which after overtaking Germany in 2017 will regain all of the ground lost post-2014 by 2019, moving on to nearly 400,000 cases by 2021 at a CAGR of 3.6 percent," Mr. Smith said. "Emerging markets also promise strong gains, including Indonesia, Nigeria and India, which is set to move into the top 20 during the lifetime of this report.
"The IWSR forecasts that premium-plus Cognac sales will rise by 3 percent CAGR through 2021, but tightening supplies could reduce that projected growth."