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Havana Club International has launched five expressions in as many years – what’s behind this strategy?

We have among the biggest stock of aged rum in the world. Cuba has a very strong rum culture and we know we have great products. It’s for us to share it with the world. We have the concept of a range, which is new for the brand but each product has a clear purpose and story. We strive to communicate the message of aged rums with quality, heritage, culture and tradition.

Is there a danger you are fragmenting the brand?

No. It’s all based on moment of consumption. It’s not a ladder it’s a horizontal range. It depends on what you want to do and at which moment. I have all the rums at home but I do not always drink the most expensive ones. At 6pm I might go for a Mojito or Daiquiri with the 3 year old, later on I might go for the 7 year old with a cocktail, then I smoke a cigar and I go for Unión. After dinner drink I go for Selección de Maestros. The best Mojito in the world is not made with Máximo, it is made with 3-year old.

Occasions are more specific with rum – it’s so versatile. I don’t know other categories that it is so pronounced.

Havana Club has been relatively flat in sales volume for five years – hovering around 4m 9-litre cases. What is holding the brand back?

Chile used to be a big rum market but has really declined. Not just for us but the category. In some countries local drinks become unfashionable when people have more purchasing power but they managed to maintain the pride of the country by premiumising pisco and it has become back on trend. At the same time, you have a boom in scotch. So Chile’s aged rum is in decline – mainly the Especial. 

Spain and Italy, with the [economic] crisis, we have lost a lot of volume in aged rums. Spain has now stabilised but over the years it has seen a big decline due to two things: the crisis and the gin renaissance. In Italy the crisis was the main driver for difficulties but also consumption has switched to champagne and vodkas.

Everyone has had a tough time in travel retail.

Is it frustrating that the brand has remained flat under your leadership?

Of course we would like to see strong growth all the time but I am here to deal with the realities of tough market conditions. When you are a global brand it is not reasonable to expect every market to be growing. That’s what I am paid for. I would rather be positive. It is satisfying to see that many markets are showing enthusiasm for the brand.

Where have you built volumes?

These three aged rum countries [Chile, Spain and Italy] are compensated by markets such as France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, UK, and Belgium. In the short term France and Germany are our big growth markets. In Germany ten years ago we were around eight times smaller. In the UK we are also doing very well.

In which segments have you found growth?

The 3 year old is still the main engine of the brand. The Mojito is still a popular cocktail around the world. In the past five years there was a substitution of Blanco for 3 year old. Especial has grown quite nicely as well.

The big groups have talked of a slowing down of premiumisation and a need to optimise mainstream brands. Have you seen this in rum? It’s not what we see in rum. I’m not saying the trend is not true, but in rum we have not suffered this because there is a real thirst for quality products and rum is not as premiumised as other categories. We are a very specific case. Even the top rums we have are not luxury because Cuba is not luxury.

How is Asia developing?

Volumes are not big for the brand in Asia but China has a strong potential with its cocktail culture. Each time I go to China I see new bars. It’s still very niche but you have to start somewhere. Our product, with its quality and origin is very attractive to Chinese consumers. Rum is not as demanding as other brown spirits for the Chinese, and the Latin origin is exotic. There is very strong potential volume wise. We are very serious in the way we invest in China with Pernod Ricard.

Cuba’s economy is changing. With a quarter of your volume sold in Cuba, how is this shaping local sales? There are more and more private businesses, especially in tourism and restaurants. You do not have a week where there is not an international delegation coming to Cuba. Even the Pope was here. The hotels are fully booked a long time in advance. Planes are booked. This is having a very positive impact on our sales in Cuba. Our sales were in double-digit growth in 2015. You also see a mix improvement. There is a drop in Blanco and an increase in the rest of the range. This has a lot to do with tourism but also an increase in purchasing power. We see people moving from the Blanco to Especial – they are consuming at a higher price point. It’s a bit more than a million cases, which is important to the roots of the brand. The brand is strong because we represent Cuba. It’s an active market - there are more than 20 brands here but we have more than 50% market share here.

Entrepreneurship is on the rise in Cuba. Are we seeing small craft rums emerging?

No. Maybe one day. But Maximo at 2,500 bottles…this is uber-craft.

Bacardi has announced its Havana Club Puerto Rican rum is launching an añejo expression and is rolling out the brand nationally in America, in the name of “celebrating the peak of Cuban cultural resurgence”. How does that make you feel? I think you said it all - Puerto Rican rum. Whatever I say, I’m the guy from Havana Club so this is a good question for Cubans. How do they feel? They are getting emotional, it is their name and heritage and what they stand for taken hostage for pure commercial reasons.

If Havana Club ever enters the US is there a danger of confusion among consumers? We only want to have fair competition and be able to sell products [in the US] and ask the consumer to choose. One [Havana Club] is from Cuba and one is from Puerto Rico. The consumer will not be fooled.

Does the recent trademark dispute mean Havanista will be scrapped? Yes. When we were not sure whether we could get the license to renew our trademark we needed a back-up option, but now we have the trademark, Havana Club is the brand we want to push forward with.

Would you be surprised if you were not able to trade as Havana Club in the US in five years time?

We have no other information other than what is publically available. But if the question were ‘do I think it much more likely now that we will trade in the US than I did five years ago’, yes. It’s much more likely today than before December 14 (2015).

What do you expect the US market to be worth in terms of volume? 1m cases? The US is 40% of the rum market. If you look at our global sales you can do the maths. Long term we are talking about this kind of volume, maybe more.