Pernod Ricard backs mezcal to make supermarket debut

Mezcal will make its debut in mainstream UK retail “one day, for sure”, the boss of Pernod Ricard’s House of Tequila unit has predicted.

Speaking to The Grocer as its Del Maguey brand marked its 30^th anniversary last month, House of Tequila CEO Michael Merolli admitted consumer awareness of lesser-known agave spirits like mezcal needed to improve to convince the mults of its potential.

Asked when shoppers could expect to see Del Maguey on supermarket shelves in the UK, Merolli said: “It’s too early at this stage, and I think we have to make that happen at the right time. If you go too early, you don’t sell, and [start to] gather dust on the shelf. You don’t have two opportunities to make a good first impression.

“We have to do things right, starting with the on-trade and some very specific liquor stores before going to classic retail. But that doesn’t mean there is no potential, and it will happen one day, for sure.”

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Mezcal – which unlike tequila can be made from up to 40 different varieties of agave grown across Mexico – was experiencing growing interest and sales in global markets and in the UK on-trade due to its rich heritage, complex flavours and versatility in cocktails, Merolli said.

However, sales are a fraction of the agave category in the off-trade, which is worth £46.1m annually [NIQ 52 we 10 August 2024]. Retailers including Waitrose are adding new tequilas to their spirits offering, but are yet to take a punt on mezcal. Del Maguey is currently only available in the UK off-trade on Amazon, and via specialist DTC retailers such as Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange. 

But Merolli pointed to the US – where sales of mezcal are evenly split between the off- and on-trade, as an example of the spirit’s potential.

“Is it happening in two years or five? I cannot say, but it will happen, and that’s the objective,” he said.

Mezcal’s similarities with wine and whisky

To raise interest and awareness in mezcal in the UK, suppliers like Del Maguey ought to play up its similarity with categories including wine and single malt whisky, Merolli said.

“It takes time to understand what this product is and how it tastes,” he said. “And if you don’t understand [it] then you don’t buy. Luckily we have some analogies we can play with.”

“The wine category is obviously one with importance of the terrior and the grapes that you are using,” Merolli continued. ”We can use this [approach] with the different agave and the villages growing and producing our mezcal. Single malt is also not that far from mezcal. Consumers that are really into single malt understand mezcal when they try it. There is that smokiness as well, which is an interesting link.”

“There is a way to make this happen and to address this misunderstanding [of mezcal] but we have to do it bit by bit progressively.”

Meanwhile, Pernod Ricard’s House of Tequila has this month added Altos Strawberry Margarita – the second ready-to-serve cocktail in the tequila brand’s line-up.

The NPD is made using Altos’ 100% agave Plata tequila, triple sec and agave syrup, before being infused with strawberries.

It has hit stores including Asda and Tesco ahead of the summer.