BRAZIL’S CACHACA

producers want tocapitalise on international tourismbuilding for the country between nowand the 2014 FIFAWorld Cup and 2016Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. To do so,they’re mounting a new marketingcampaign for the national spirit thattargets Brazilians as much as – if not morethan – new consumers abroad.Despite being the third most consumedspirit in the world, behind just vodka andsake, Brazil exports only about 1% of itsannual cachaça production, or about 10.44million litres. Roughly 99% of cachaça isconsumed in Brazil, around 800 millionlitres in 2010, albeit without much fanfareor signs of market growth.Service establishments in Brazil stillrarely highlight cachaça or its mixeddrink the Caipirinha, be it on menus,through evening specials or via verbalencouragement from waiters. Whilecachaça accounts for 86% of the nation’sdistilled spirit sales, pricier options likewines or exotic spirits are gainingground as Brazilians improve theirstanding in life, and want to try morechic imported goods.“In Mexico, when you enter arestaurant, the first thing they ask you isif you’d like a Margarita, or Tequilastraight,” says Vitoria Cavalcanti, foreignsales director for Pitú, a top-selling brandat home and abroad. “Here, waiters don’tdo that. They never mention cachaça orCaipirinhas on their own.”Aprejudice remains among middle classBrazilians and those higher up thatcachaça is a cheap commoner’s spirit, andsomething to avoid when other options areavailable. Until now, cachaça distributorshave chosen to grudgingly accept this andfocus their energy on building the drink’sbrand abroad from scratch.But now the foreign clientele on whichthey’ve been focusing cachaça marketingabroad will visit Brazil in just a few years,and if they see natives shun the Brazilianspirit in its own backyard all the progressmade overseas during the last decadecould unravel. The industry’s marketing

CACHET

for cachaça

Ahead of the 2014World Cup and the 2016 Olympics,a new marketing campaign for cachaça will targetmiddle class Brazilians,who see the spirit as inferior,tending to favour foreign imports.Bob Moser reports