Making this accomplishment even more impressive is that Bacardi, founded in Cuba in 1862, remains the largest privately owned company in our

Jeff Branson, SVP, Commercial for Bacardi North America

industry. How has Bacardi sustained such success? For answers, we recently spoke with Jeff Branson, Senior Vice President, Commercial for Bacardi North America.

BEVERAGE DYNAMICS: HOW DID BACARDI NAVIGATE A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR THE BEVERAGE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY? JEFF BRANSON: It’ s no secret that this has been a challenging environment, but we’ re not pulling back. As a family-owned company for more than 164 years, we take the long view, and we’ re continuing to invest in our brands, our people and our customer partnerships.

We’ ve also stayed very disciplined. We know where we can win, we focus our resources there and we execute consistently. Our portfolio is a real advantage because we don’ t play in just one lane. We compete across categories, price points, channels and occasions, which gives us flexibility as consumer demand shifts.

Tough markets reward companies that are prepared, focused and willing to stay the course. That’ s what we’ ve done, and it has allowed us to keep building momentum both in the on-premise and off.

BD: WHICH BACARDI BRANDS PERFORMED BEST OVER THE PAST YEAR, AND WHAT DROVE THEIR SUCCESS WITH CONSUMERS? JB: What’ s exciting is that our momentum isn’ t tied to a single brand or category. It comes from our family of iconic spirits brands and the way we execute behind them. Bacardí rum and Grey Goose are both gaining share in categories that are under pressure. ST-Germain is growing because it’ s perfectly suited for growing spritz occasion. In the incredibly crowded tequila category, our Cazadores tequila is growing double digits while Patrón Reposado is outpacing its competitive set.

The reason our brands are standing out is simple: we have premium brands with a clear role in consumer occasions and in culture, and we’ re backing them with focused investment and strong execution.

BD: BACARDI HAS A BROAD PORTFOLIO OF BRANDS. HOW DOES THE COM- PANY BALANCE INVESTING IN ESTABLISHED LABELS WHILE CONTINUING TO INNOVATE? JB: As a family-owned company, Bacardi has the privilege and responsibility of building some of the world’ s best-known spirits brands for the long term. We don’ t see established brands and innovation as competing priorities. The best innovation builds on what people already love, answers a real consumer need and creates value for our customers.

Grey Goose Berry Rouge, the brand’ s first new flavor launch in a decade, is a great example. It taps into the popularity of fruit flavors, while maintaining the ultra-smooth finish and premium quality that Grey Goose is known for.

Grey Goose Altius is an ultra-premium, limited-edition luxury vodka crafted with spring water from the French Alps and soft winter wheat from Picardie. It’ s only available in travel retail and at some of the top premium accounts across the world where guests are looking for an elevated serve and experience.

BD: WHAT STRATEGIES IS BACARDI USING TO ENGAGE GEN Z AND MILLENNIAL CONSUMERS? JB: Younger legal-drinking-age consumers are looking for more than a product. According to the 2026 Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report, consumers are moving toward more meaningful drinking moments, connection, local flavor and storytelling experiences.

That’ s why we focus on the cultural spaces where our brands have a real role to play, including music, sports, travel, hospitality and the moments people are already choosing to gather around. We’ re not trying to chase every trend or show up everywhere just to be seen. The connection has to feel earned, and the experience has to add something to the moment.

BD: WHAT NEW PRODUCTS OR INNOVATIONS HAS BACARDI INTRODUCED OVER THE PAST YEAR? JB: We’ ve brought several important innovations to market this year, but if I had to pick one that really captures what we’ re trying to do, it would be Patrón 100. What makes Patrón 100 different is that it delivers a bolder, small-batch expression of Patrón with more agave character coming through. It’ s distilled to 100 proof without added water, and made entirely through the traditional tahona stone process, which keeps it closely connected to the craft that made Patrón iconic. That’ s the kind of innovation we get excited about.

BD: WHICH MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, PARTNERSHIPS OR PROMOTIONS DE- LIVERED THE STRONGEST RESULTS FOR BACARDI? JB: The strongest programs for us are tied to cultural tentpole moments where our brands have a real role to play and can show up in a way that feels earned, distinctive and useful to consumers and customers. Culture creates the opportunity. Execution turns it into value.

Grey Goose at the U. S. Open is a great example of how a cultural moment can turn into real consumer pull. More than 20 years into the partnership, the Grey Goose Honey Deuce is no longer just the official cocktail of the tournament, with one selling every second.‘ Honey Deuce season’ has become part of the end-of-summer ritual in New York. And now it goes beyond the tournament. This year, you can get a Grey Goose Honey Deuce at more than 140 New York-area bars and at our pop-up at Grand Central Station. That creates real pull for Grey Goose. People ask for it, customers want to feature it, and the moment turns into sales. And if you see the frozen Grey Goose Honey Deuce this season, order it. You’ ll thank me later.

Outside of sports, Bacardí Rum has a natural place in music because rum is about movement, energy and people coming together. Our‘ Do What Moves You’ platform shows up at some of the year’ s biggest music moments, from the MTV Video Music Awards to the showing up at some of the hottest summer music festivals with our Casa Bacardí activation, where guests are transported to the Caribbean with rum, music and movement. From Lollapalooza to Sueños to Outside Lands or EDC in Orlando and Las Vegas – we are showing up at some of the hottest festivals of the season. That matters because it keeps Bacardí relevant, gives our customers a reason to feature the brand and turns music moments into real occasions for rum.

For us, the goal is not to be everywhere. It is to show up in the right places, with brands that have a right to be there, and make those moments work harder for our customers.

BD: WHAT MERCHANDISING, EDUCATION OR IN-STORE PROGRAMS HAVE PROVEN MOST EFFECTIVE FOR RETAIL PARTNERS? JB: Visibility matters, but the best programs do two things: help shoppers choose quickly, and give our partners a story they can sell with confidence.

In store, that starts with merchandising that brings the occasion to life. Displaying the main ingredients of the ST-Germain Hugo Spritz side by side – the ST-Germain elderflower liqueur, sparkling wine and soda water – allows the shopper to see the most popular drink of the summer at a glance. It jumps off the shelf and into the cart because they immediately think,‘ I can make that tonight’.

Education is a big focus for us because people want to understand what they’ re drinking, how it’ s made and why it’ s worth choosing. Patrón is a great example, because the story is so simple: it is made by hand with just three ingredients, Blue Weber agave, water and yeast. That’ s why we put our teams in the room with retail and hospitality partners, using tastings and hands-on training to show what makes Patrón different. When they understand the craft behind the brand, they can bring that same belief and energy to the consumer experience.

BD: HOW IS BACARDI USING CONSUMER INSIGHTS AND DATA TO GUIDE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING DECISIONS? JB: Insights help us make better choices about where to focus. We look at how consumers are behaving, what they are drinking and which occasions are gaining relevance, then combine that with what our customers and field teams are seeing in the market. The goal is not to make the plan more complicated. It is to turn insight into a focused plan our teams and partners can execute, with the right brand, in the right account and for the right occasion.

BD: LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT ARE BACARDI’ S PRIORITIES FOR GROWTH AND INNOVATION OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS? JB: We’ re staying the course and investing for the long term in the U. S. market. That means putting our resources behind the brands, categories and occasions where we have the greatest opportunity and bringing meaningful innovation to market.

Instead of dialing back, we’ re adding more headcount to our commercial team and continue to strengthen execution with our distributor, retail and on-premise partners.

The priorities are clear: keep building our iconic premium brands, make it easier for our partners to win and ensure our products are available on the shelf, on the menu and behind the bar. Because when our customers win, we win. •