The tequila category and agave spirits have reached an inflection point where explosive global growth collides with unprecedented market saturation. With over 200 distilleries flooding the U.S. market alone and premium tequila experiencing a remarkable 60% compound annual growth rate internationally, success now demands strategic differentiation, cultural authenticity, and the vision to see beyond crowded domestic markets. These Bar Convent Berlin presentations offer a comprehensive roadmap for navigating tequila’s complex landscape heading into 2026, from breaking through the noise in oversaturated markets by identifying untapped consumer needs to executing rapid international expansion strategies that capitalize on surging global demand.
How to Innovate in a Saturated Tequila Market
In this Bar Convent Berlin speech, Jose Sanchez Gavito, Technical Director for H&A Group, reveals how to escape the saturated “red ocean” of the U.S. tequila market (30M cases, 200+ distilleries) by creating an uncontested “blue ocean” of demand.
Going Global: A Blueprint for Tequila Expansion
Quentin Job, Managing Director of Cincoro Tequila, reveals the data-driven tequila expansion strategy used to launch the premium brand in 15+ international markets in under two years. Discover how to leverage the 60% CAGR in global premium tequila to build a rapid and successful international distribution network.
Why Tequila’s Heritage and Authenticity are Important for its Longevity
Steffin Oghene, Vice President of El Tequileño, reveals why tequila’s heritage and authenticity matter for its longevity and how the world’s most successful spirit brands endure for decades. Moving beyond the “what” (liquid, packaging) and the “how” (process), he unveils the power of leading with your “WHY”.
How to Innovate in a Saturated Tequila Market Transcript
Jose Sanchez Gavito (0:03)
I’m Jose Sanchez Gavito, technical director for H&A Group in Mexico and Latin America. H&A Group sells barrels, so I have a lot of data on the aging capacity side of the market. I’m also a winemaker, a “flying winemaker,” and a master blender consultant — so all my expertise comes from the liquid itself and how that liquid can be sold. It’s a slightly different perspective from Quentin’s, as my focus is primarily on the US market.
My position is that agave has become something of a red ocean — a market defined by intense, saturated competition. In the US, we currently have around 30 million cases being sold, produced across 200 distilleries, each making at least 10 labels. How do you differentiate your product in that kind of environment?
All major players are selling over a million cases in the US, and the market has grown for 16 consecutive years. This year was the slowest growth we’ve seen, and it appears that expansion is starting to stall — which suggests the US market may be reaching maturity, though that’s not necessarily the case outside the US.
What challenges do we face? First, CRT bureaucracy — you cannot do anything outside what the CRT defines as permissible. That’s a significant problem, because the CRT is directly facing a consumer who is changing. Consumers want transparency, they want minimal intervention, and the CRT is arguably working in the opposite direction, obscuring what’s actually happening in tequila production. There are also rising expectations around health, convenience, and stories that matter. And politics — without getting into detail — is another significant frontier the tequila industry is navigating.
Jose Sanchez Gavito (2:32)
The consumer is changing. They seek more than just alcohol content — they seek wellness, balance, authenticity, emotional connection, and a deep sense of values and story. My professor at UC Davis used to say, “A beautiful story is all you need.” I still believe in the power of a story, but right now you need a great deal more on top of that.
I’m going to base the rest of this talk on ways to compete by creating a “blue ocean” — finding uncontested market space rather than fighting over the same saturated territory.
A blue ocean strategy is built on a framework: your value proposition. That proposition needs three things — focus, divergence, and a tagline. With that framework in mind, the areas I see with the most potential to create a blue ocean in agave spirits right now are: no- or low-alcohol, estate-grown agave, a different geographic origin, and aging with purpose.
Starting with no- and low-alcohol: what is the consumer looking for, and what’s the value proposition? You need to deliver authenticity, flavor, and an emotional ritual. Not the shot to get you wasted — the shot that brings friends together. It’s about convenience, mindfulness, and spending time with the people you enjoy. The focus is on wellness and culture, mindful consumption, and the recognition that you’re offering an artisanal product with real heritage.
The divergence is moving away from strength as the primary selling point. With agave, the kick shouldn’t be the only thing on offer — it’s the flavor, the concentration, everything behind the spirit. In this framing, lightness becomes luxury. The tagline I like for this is: “Same soul, just a lighter spirit.”
What I want to emphasize is that there are many options for competing in this crowded market — you just have to assess which direction is right for you.
Jose Sanchez Gavito (4:55)
“The greatest spirits are not made — they are cultivated: one field, one harvest, one hand at a time.” Estate-grown agave gives you vertical integration, which eliminates the perennial problem of agave supply and demand volatility. I’ve personally seen the agave supply crisis happen three times in my career. In 1995, agave went from one peso per kilogram to 20 pesos. Right now, it’s swung the other way — from 20–35 pesos per kilogram down to just three. It makes no sense economically, but it reflects how difficult it is to forecast consumption five years out — which is the typical growing cycle for Agave tequilana. For other varieties, like the agaves used in certain mezcals, you’re looking at 20 to 25 years to maturity, making accurate forecasting essentially impossible.
Growing your own agave, as brands like Cuervo or Mezcal producers with long agave reserves have done, gives you supply security. It’s similar to what “estate grown” means in the wine world, where estate wines commonly command a 30–40% price premium. Estate-grown agave offers the same opportunity: vertical integration, traceability, and genuine transparency.
The divergence here is moving away from mass-brand thinking toward identity. And the tagline I really like is: “Authenticity is grown, not added.” It’s very easy to change the superficial flavor of a tequila with a few drops of additives — but that only changes the surface. It doesn’t change the structure, the actual character of the spirit.
Jose Sanchez Gavito (7:08)
Where is the agave? Here we’re seeing four examples of agave spirits not coming from Mexico. Jolo and Hanson spirits are coming from the US — and the US is a significant driver of this trend, particularly because in California alone, universities are projecting the conversion of 5,000 hectares of grapevine to agave, given that agave restores what other crops exhaust. It’s a spirit born of resilience and renewal — growing agave doesn’t deplete water in the same way as many crops, and it actually restores erosion in the fields where it grows.
Pistola is a product made in India. Sanjo is made in South Africa. These products already exist, and they’re being sold around the world. The divergence here is reframing the agave plant — not just as a crop, but as something that can restore soil health, while also moving away from a monopoly on agave production. The tagline: “Growing hope, one agave at a time.”
The area that excites me most — because it’s where I’m actively working right now — is aging with purpose. At H&A, we work with four different aging styles: ex-wine casks, ex-fortified wine casks, ex-spirit casks, and regenerated casks. Each gives you a different flavor profile that will enhance and elevate your agave spirit differently.
You’re also thinking about sustainability by getting multiple uses out of each cask — you can typically use a cask three or four times before its contribution diminishes.
What we’re really looking for is an evolution of agave aging — where the barrel becomes an active partner, not just a vessel. One of the main issues I see in aged agave spirits is the focus on “two months” to claim reposado status. What can really happen to a liquid in two months? Very little — it’s entirely superficial. With more intentional aging, or longer aging, the transformation can be profound. And right now, approximately 98% of agave spirit aging is done in ex-bourbon casks. There’s enormous untapped potential beyond that one format.
The tagline here is: “Mature by design, not by habit.”
Jose Sanchez Gavito (10:18)
First, assess what you’re looking for. What is the strategic path that becomes your blue ocean? Then commit to it — run a test, stay very close to your feedback loops. Talk to your mixologists, your trade partners, the people on the road, because they’ll tell you quickly whether your strategy is working. And when you move to execution, make sure you can scale. A lot of brands do very well in the test phase but then can’t find the barrels they need to recreate the liquid at volume.
You can always find the barrels with H&A.
Finally: a red ocean rewards scale — a blue ocean rewards vision. Innovation will belong to those who turn heritage into a horizon. Thank you very much.
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Going Global: A Blueprint for Tequila Expansion Transcript
Quentin Job (0:03)
How’s it going, everyone? Good. So, this is me — I’ve spent nearly 30 years in the industry, a long time with Pernod Ricard. But now I have the chance to work with Cincoro Tequila, which is a great opportunity to create a new route to market outside of the US — and that’s what you’re going to hear about today.
I want to talk about the rise of agave spirits outside of the US — that’s my specific territory and focus. But first, let me talk a bit about the brand I’m representing. I’ve got a couple of lovely bottles here — our little half bottles, which are super cute.
It all started back in 2016, with a dinner among a few people you might recognize — our founders. They include Michael Jordan, the NBA star, as well as the owners of the Celtics, the Lakers, and the Milwaukee Bucks: essentially a group of billionaires who all love tequila. They came together wanting to make a tequila that truly tasted delicious. Now, I’ve worked in this industry a long time, and you don’t normally describe tequila as delicious — but we believe we’ve done it. They spent three years, tasting a thousand tequilas, to come up with something that is genuinely very different — and I dare say, delicious.
One slide I particularly like is the one with all the medals, because people often ask: “Okay, you’ve got Michael Jordan — but is the liquid any good?” The fact is, we were winning medals from day one, double blind — no one knew the name, the price point, who made it, or what the bottle looked like — and we were winning double golds. It really is excellent liquid.
We then created a stunning bottle. Michael Jordan went to Mark Smith, the Air Jordan shoe designer — someone who had never designed a bottle or any alcohol packaging before — and said, “I want you to design a bottle for me.” The result is shaped like an agave leaf, has a 23-degree angle in honour of Jordan’s jersey number, and has five sides — unusual for a bottle — representing the five founders. It’s a very cool bottle, which is exactly what you need at the high end of the market. So: great story, delicious liquid, and a stunning bottle.
Their focus for the first four or five years was the US — the biggest tequila market, and rightly so. They focused on five-star distribution and luxury events. Only in 2023 did they bring on new investors to go further globally. You’ll recognize some of the faces there: Serena Williams, Travis Scott, and a number of other high-profile names at the top of their respective fields. So now we have the investment to go global — and that’s what I’m here to talk about today.
Quentin Job (3:07)
When I started this role nearly two years ago, the first question I had was: where do we go first? If you’re in tequila, you’re probably asking a similar question. My remit was everywhere outside of North America — so where should we focus? And crucially, how do we get the management team aligned on that strategy before we start? Otherwise, someone will come back in a year asking why you didn’t go after a different market.
So we did a fairly fun segmentation exercise. Normally you’d look at the biggest tequila markets, and that was absolutely one of our key pillars. But we also layered on things like: how many people in that country follow basketball, who knows who Michael Jordan is, how many searches are people doing? And we added some macro economic data on top. Combining those three pillars gave us a scoring system that ranked the top markets around the world — essentially, what’s the size of the prize, and where’s our ability to win?
That gave us our list — and this is it. Based on those scores, here’s where we decided to focus our time and energy. The US and Canada were already in play. The Dominican Republic was an interesting addition. Across Europe, we identified five or six priority markets, including Germany, where we are today. In the Middle East and Africa, Israel and the Gulf region ranked highly. And across Asia, some excellent markets came through: China, Korea, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore all scored very well. On top of that, we added global travel retail — showcasing in key airport markets, and staying open to opportunistic markets where the effort is low and volumes are good, while keeping the real investment focused on those priority markets.
Quentin Job (5:10)
So where are we today, less than two years in? The orange on the map shows where we started. I originally had this in red and blue, but everyone thought I was talking about Republicans and Democrats, so — orange. From that orange starting point, we’ve moved into the green. We’ve had a really strong run of signing distribution deals across our priority markets. Japan is the one exception I haven’t cracked yet, but every other market on our list now has signed distribution, and we’re starting to sell. Most people would agree this is an unusually fast expansion — and I’ll explain why we think that is.
Three key things have driven how quickly this has happened. First is the rising global interest in tequila itself. When you’re sitting down with a distributor in a new market and they already know that tequila — especially ultra-premium tequila — is growing fast, they’re naturally open to the conversation. That’s a great tailwind to have.
Second is our package — and I don’t just mean the packaging, though that’s part of it. I mean the full package: the story, the liquid, the bottle. When you walk a prospective distributor through those elements and then let them taste the product, the response is consistently positive. It fits into their portfolio. It works for their consumers.
Third — and this is a cultural point — Cincoro operates differently from the big multinationals. I spent 21 years at Pernod Ricard, a great company, but things move at a certain pace in a business that size, quite rightly. If you want to grow at the pace we’ve grown, you have to be faster. We’re pragmatic, we’re agile, and we move quickly when we meet the right partners. A good example: I was in Taiwan, met with a distributor, we’d done our research and knew they were the right fit — and I was finishing the contract in the airport on the way home, sending it to them by email less than two hours after the meeting. That wouldn’t happen at a larger company. So: interest in tequila, the Cincoro package, and a way of doing business that seems to work.
Quentin Job (8:01)
After two years, here’s what I’d say has contributed most to the success.
First, know where you’re going. I’ve covered the prioritisation exercise already — select your countries analytically, in a way you can defend. You can’t just go to your boss and say “I want to go after these places.” You need a strong, data-backed rationale.
Second, be clear on your trade focus. At our price point, you don’t want to be everywhere. Not every supermarket, not every bar — you want to be very deliberate about where you show up. For us, that means five-star on-premise accounts, very high-end restaurants, select nightclubs, e-commerce where we can really compete at the top end, and the top tier of off-premise retail. If you spread too thin, you’ll be gathering dust on shelves.
Pricing is critical. Some people assume that as a young, small startup you should just chase wherever the opportunity is — but if you get pricing wrong, it will haunt you later. Get it right from a consumer perspective, benchmark against the right competitors, make sure the value chain works for trade, and ensure your pricing doesn’t create grey-market parallel imports flowing into markets you haven’t sanctioned.
We also created a legal template. Rather than paying a lawyer every time to draft a distribution contract for each new market, we built one solid template that could be quickly adapted — change the market name, change the distributor name, and you have a clean, legally sound contract ready to send. Fast and cost-effective.
Another thing: be able to sell yourself. It sounds obvious, but I’ve described this before as a bit like Tinder — not that I’ve used it, but apparently both parties have to swipe right. The distributor has to like what you’re saying, and you have to like what they’re saying. I’ve had conversations with bosses who say “just go after the best distributor,” but the best distributor also has to want to sell you. To make them swipe right, you need compelling materials: a strong brand deck, sales sheets, and all the assets they need to make you work in their market.
Carefully selecting your distributors is equally important. You’ll never get it exactly right every time, but do your research — look at their portfolio, ask around about their reputation, and sometimes trust your gut. There have been instances where something just didn’t feel right, and looking back, walking away was absolutely the right call. Don’t rush into a bad partnership just to tick a market off the list — you could be with that distributor for five or ten years.
And finally, embrace luck. Indonesia and Nigeria are two markets I wasn’t necessarily planning to prioritise — and they’ve turned out to be my top two performers. Sometimes the market you thought would be massive isn’t, and the one you overlooked ends up doing brilliantly. Don’t always follow just the numbers.
That’s me — I hope that was useful, and I look forward to questions at the end. Thank you. Thanks for tuning in — make sure to hit the subscribe button to keep up with the latest beverage alcohol industry insights.
Why Tequila’s Heritage and Authenticity are Important for its Longevity Transcript
Steffin Oghene (0:04)
My name is Steffin, and I’m the Vice President of Tequila El Tequileño. I oversee international sales, marketing, and innovation — we’re a small company, so we wear many hats. Today I’m going to be talking about “aging with purpose” — building enduring brands for global success.
We’ve heard Quentin talking about markets outside the US, and that’s specifically where I focus. Agave spirits are growing — led by tequila and mezcal — but I’m also seeing big interest now in raicilla, bacanora, and other expressions. That growth itself, however, doesn’t guarantee longevity for any brand. So today I’m not going to focus on the quick wins of riding the agave wave; this is more about how you build a brand for the long term.
That leads us into a really powerful framework for looking at any brand. For many years I worked at Pernod Ricard, where Quentin also worked, and I’d sit in all these annual brand planning meetings. There was always something I could see trying to express itself in those brand plans — how do we reach the consumer, how do we drive pull? “Drive pull, drive pull” — that’s the drumbeat in big corporate companies. But I could never quite articulate it myself until I came across a gentleman called Simon Sinek.
Steffin Oghene (1:49)
If you haven’t come across Simon Sinek, I really recommend reading his book, Start With Why. It’s a great way of looking at brands. What Simon says, essentially, is: people don’t buy what you do — they buy why you do it. He calls his model the “golden circle” — and I’ve completely borrowed it here, because I think it really explains a great way of thinking about brand building.
Most brands start on the outside — the what: the product, the packaging. Some will go a step further and talk about the how: the production process, their unique method, whatever. But the brands that endure are the ones that lead with their purpose and belief — the why. I see this clearly when I’m traveling around with agave spirits. The brands that start with why are really connecting with people in a solid, lasting way. And I think the golden circle works in any industry — for those who own bars or anything else. You start with your why, your purpose, your belief.
And to be clear: your “why” is not “we want to sell a million cases in 2025.” That’s a result of what you’re doing. Your why is your firm belief. To give an example outside of agave spirits — take Johnnie Walker. For as long as they’ve existed, they’ve had the “Keep Walking” campaign, and that campaign is about progression, resilience, and forward thinking. It connects with consumers. They have a really strong why. Compare that to a big, flashy vodka brand with a glitzy launch, a beautiful bottle, and ten celebrities behind it. It might produce short-term wins, but as soon as the money runs out, it fades away — because there’s no deep-rooted connection with the consumer. The why-driven brands, rooted in purpose, are the ones growing strongly around the world. The what-driven brands come and go very fast.
Steffin Oghene (4:57)
Integrity, history, and heritage all connect back to authenticity — and consumers are craving authenticity in premium spirits right now. By integrity, I really mean transparency: transparency around your product. Heritage gives you a sense of place — your generations, your craft — and that’s really important to communicate. History is about storytelling: connecting with your consumer. That authenticity around a brand, which ties back to your why, is something consumers actively engage with and seek out. It creates value, and it creates loyalty and trust.
I’m always in the market watching what other brands are doing, and there are very clearly two approaches: short-term and long-term. The short-term approach — I have to be honest — is kind of addictive, because it’s very tempting. You drive case sales, you do a glitzy launch, you do all these things that generate big numbers. Case sales go up, the value of your company rises, you make money, and hopefully if you’ve got an exit plan, someone comes along and buys you for $500 million and you’re happy. But if that’s not at the core of your brand, the short-term approach carries huge risk — because a lot of the time you see people running out of money before they reach that valuation and exit.
For me, the brands I see doing really well in the market are the ones with the long-term approach, focusing on all those key points: history, heritage, and quality in the bottle. That craft and quality is something you can champion all day. As I noted on the slide: “Discounts buy attention — heritage builds loyalty.” That’s so important when you think about the trade and consumers.
Steffin Oghene (7:50)
The trade — meaning retailers and bartenders — naturally prefer heritage brands. Of course, margins matter, but heritage brands have natural pull: the prestige, the value, the quality — everything that comes with them is much preferred. And consumers feel the connection, they feel the trust, they feel the value of what they’re spending their money on. For longevity and endurance in the market right now, if you invest time in the why, you’re going to go a long way.
The path to global growth: real brands win decades, not discounts. The global spirits industry is premiumizing — I see this a lot in agave spirits specifically. We’ve had a huge boom in the US that’s now moving into the rest of the world, developing more and more — and agave spirits are perfectly aligned for premiumization because of that deep-rooted cultural aspect that connects with people. You just have to champion that, get out in the market, and remember that you’re in this for the long term.
I’ve also seen a lot written about people drinking less, the shift to non-alcoholic, this market down, that big company struggling. Of course there are economic impacts — I believe that’s real. But I firmly believe that a lot of the brands you see declining globally, not just in agave spirits but across other categories, have lost their why. That’s my opinion — it’s subjective — but when I look at what they’re doing and think about it as a consumer myself, I feel that they’ve lost that really key component. And the brands that are still thriving globally are the ones that champion their why every single day.
Thank you very much. Thanks for tuning in — make sure to hit the subscribe button to keep up with the latest beverage alcohol industry insights.
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