Tanduay Distillers launches new brandy line

MANILA, Philippines - The liquor unit of conglomerate LT Group Inc. is launching a new brandy line late this year as it targets a slice of the market dominated by world’s top brandy producer Emperador Distillers Inc.

Tanduay Distillers Inc. aims to sell more than 500,000 cases of brandy in a year’s time to help reverse a slowdown in sales of existing products, its top official said last week.

Tanduay president Wilson Young told reporters that the company will introduce Compañero Brandy next month.

“Our target is to initially sell 50,000 cases a month,” Young said. However, selling 600,000 cases in one year is still just a small portion of the brandy market, he said.

So far, the presence of world’s second top rum producer Tanduay in the local brandy market is limited to Barcelona Brandy. In contrast, Emperador, which corners more than 90 percent of the market, sold 31 million cases last year.

The launch of Compañero Brandy will aid the company in tempering lower sales it posted year-to-date.

“The slowdown was because of excise taxes (but) we will be launching new products,” Young said.

Young described the local spirits market as “fickle,” with the consumers’ preference shifting from gin to rum and now to brandy. Industry data showed that 65 million cases of spirits are sold locally per year.

In January to September, rum maker Tanduay incurred a net loss of P41 million, reversing the P489-million income last year.

“Tanduay’s earnings were adversely affected by the one-time expenses amounting to P105 million, arising from the closure of the old plant in Quiapo, Manila, coupled with the impact of higher excise taxes, higher alcohol prices and stiff competition,” LT Group earlier said.

Republic Act 10351 or the Sin Tax Law took effect on Jan. 1, imposing higher excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products that aims to increase the government’s revenues while discouraging heavy consumption of cigarettes, beer, liquor, wine, and other tobacco and alcohol products.

Young said Tanduay is still the leading rum seller in Visayas and Mindanao but the company is looking for opportunities abroad.

The company already started shipping Silver Tanduay and Gold Tanduay to Miami during the summer season.