Tanduay builds on strong tradition in US market, sees spike in sales

BRAND BUILDING Phil Phan, store manager of BevMo Colma/Daly City, displays the Tanduay Rum with Golden State Warriors packaging. —Contributed photos

SAN FRANCISCO—Legend here has it that American adventurer and World War II veteran Donn Beach was behind the United States’ first tiki drinks, those elaborate and exotic tropical cocktails that were first served in 1933 at Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood and started the tiki culture craze.

What is not so known, however, is that the Filipino bar staff were the ones actually mixing the complex, imaginative and ultimately refreshing “Rhum Rhapsodies” that Don the Beachcomber made famous, inspiring succeeding generations to prepare, serve and enjoy their own concoctions.

And the rum that these first tiki mixologists used? Tanduay Rum, one of a handful of global rum brands that have managed to survive through changing tastes, owners and fortunes for over 150 years.

First produced in 1854, Tanduay today has emerged as the World’s No. 1 Rum for the fifth consecutive year in 2022 by Drinks International Magazine, with annual sales exceeding 23 million cases.

ALL SMILES Catch Salum, manager and “cocktail engineer” at Avenida Restaurant, San Mateo

Produced and distributed by the Lucio Tan group through Tanduay Distillers Inc., plans are in place to further build on that long tradition of Tanduay’s presence in the U.S., by reaching out to both the end-users such as the bars and restaurants and the off-trade through the giant retail chains such as BevMo, a retail chain here focused on the sale of alcoholic drinks.

According to Paul Lim, Tanduay senior vice president for sales and marketing, the aim is to make Tanduay the undisputed leader in the United States “by offering a diverse range of premium rum products proudly made in the Philippines.”

These include the Tanduay Double Rum, Especia Spiced Rum, Tanduay Asian Rum Gold, Tanduay Asian Rum Silver, Boracay Coconut Rum, Boracay Cappuccino Rum and the Tanduay Rum White and Tanduay Rum Dark, all of which can be used to enhance the taste of new and classic cocktails such as the mojito, piña colada, old fashioned, mai tai and daiquiri.

A sample of the cocktails that can be fashioned out of Tanduay products are available at the Tanduay Rum Club inside Chase Center in San Francisco, home of the Golden State Warriors, which Tanduay sponsors.

OVERSEER Robert Eng, California State lead for Tanduay Rum at Chase Center’s Tanduay Rum Club

Globalization

Backing the defending champion of the National Basketball Association (NBA) is an integral part of Tanduay’s efforts to further increase the American public’s awareness of the Tanduay brand, given the immense popularity of the professional basketball league.

According to Lim, Tanduay first forged a partnership with an NBA team in 2017 when it partnered with the Brooklyn Nets. It was followed by the Golden State Warriors the following year and has been expanded to now include the Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“As we expand our business worldwide, we create partnerships with organizations that share our passion for excellence. We are confident that the NBA is a significant venue to grow our brand awareness,” Tanduay president and chief operating officer Lucio Tan III says in a statement.

Tan adds that the group is “looking forward to bringing our Philippine-made products to more cities in the United States” and even farther afield.

SPIKED One of the popular tiki drinks with Tanduay rum served at Sherry Chua’s Hula Hoops in San Francisco.

Tanduay’s aggressive expansion and marketing efforts are paying off handsomely as the iconic brand grew its international business by 16 percent in 2022. It recorded a 16-percent growth in the large American market and a stellar 293-percent growth in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets.

So far, Tanduay products are now available in 16 US states: California, Florida, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Arizona, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Slated to be added to the list this year are North Carolina, Georgia and Ohio. Tanduay also entered Canada and Costa Rica, firmly setting its foothold in the Northern American market.

Tanduay likewise braved the highly competitive European spirits market as it established distribution partnerships in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Georgia and Armenia.

In Asia Pacific and the Middle East, Tanduay joined the markets of Singapore, China, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Then this year, Tanduay will be available in Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan, and it is not about to stop adding to the list anytime soon.