The taste of luxury

By: Ipacs Tamás Date: 2025. 12. 04. 12:17

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In the super-premium and super-premium+ spirit categories consumers are increasingly looking for experience, authentic origin and special production methods.

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2025/12-2026.01

Beáta Harcsa
marketing director
Zwack

In the super-premium segment it is clear that status purchases are driven by experience, according to Beáta Harcsa, marketing director at Zwack: craftsmanship, origin and presentation add extra value. Sales of the company’s super-premium rums – Don Papa, Zacapa – have grown significantly in recent years. The rum category continues to be one of the strongest trendsetters..

Motivations

Attila Piri
marketing director
Heinemann Testvérek

According to Attila Piri, marketing director of Heinemann Testvérek, in super-premium and super-premium+ spirit sales consumer education plays a key role. The company’s most successful whisky brands are Laphroaig and Dalmore Scotch single malts, but he also mentions Hibiki from Japan and Maker’s Mark from the US. Currently, the growth trend in the rum category is the most pronounced, but gin is also performing well.

Zoárd Trömböczky
senior brand manager
Maspex Olympos

Zoárd Trömböczky, senior brand manager of MASPEX believes that consumption in the super-premium+ category is more dependent on experiences, because consumers have been increasingly looking for lasting experiences since the Covid pandemic.

Perhaps Hungary’s most successful super-premium brand is Hendrick’s gin, which has become the country’s largest white spirit brand by 2024. The market is clearly going towards “affordable luxury”, as consumers are increasingly following the principle of “less but better”.

Airport shopping driven by experiences is gaining greater importance

Simán szuper, nagyon szuper

Csaba Mosonyi
country manager
Sovereign Brands

Simply super, very super

Csaba Mosonyi, the Hungarian representative of Sovereign Brands explains that the consumption of exclusive beverages is growing. Status purchases continue and experience consumption may even increase. The ultra-premium category remains accessible to only a few people, but super-premium brands such as Bumbu rums and The Deacon whisky owe their success precisely to this occasional indulgence. Super-premium products aren’t mass-market items, but the most successful ones are already relatively well known.

Dr. Csaba Pipei
co-owner
Premirum

We learn from Csaba Pipei, co-owner of Premirum that the company sells rums in every category from premium upwards. Their sales tripled this year in the super-premium and above categories.

What do rich people drink?

Today the premiumisation trend permeates not only the alcoholic drink market but the whole beverage industry, yet super-premium spirits remain one of the most visible symbols of this process. In 2024 the segment declined globally: sales of status drinks with an average price of minimum USD 100 dropped 8% in value. This trend is particularly driven by duty-free sales, which were up 5% in 2024. Within the category tequila and RTDs are leading the growth: celebrity-founded brands – such as tequilas bearing the names of famous people – are sought after for their “badge value”. Scotch remains one of the most important pillars of premiumisation.

An attractive bottle matters, yet today, consumers also expect a compelling origin story and genuine authenticity

George Clooney, Dwayne Johnson and the rest

Beverage brands established by celebrities now represent a separate category in the global drinks sector: celebrity brands promise not only the reputation of their famous founders, but also a lifestyle and aspiration. However, these drinks don’t automatically belong to the super-premium segment – most of them (an estimated 60-70%) are positioned in the mid-range or upper-mid-range categories. Lots of celebrity drinks are marketed at USD 30-50 per bottle.