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WITH THE OLYMPICS streaming out of the television every waking hour it’s hard not to feel the slightest bit of guilt about how inactive we are. Gym memberships might spike as a result but the health drive has been weighing on our minds for a while and its gathering momentum has started to impact on the drinks industry at the highest tier.

Cigarette packets have displayed health warnings for a while, so arguably it was only a matter of time before booze succumbed to pressure to do the same. Diageo has become the first global brand owner to start providing per-serving alcohol content on its packs, in June. By the end of the year 30 million bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label will display this information to meet the increasing demand for such information, the company says.

Updates to Johnnie Walker Black Label, Double Black, Gold Label Reserve, Platinum and Green Label are also planned for the first half of 2017.

“For some adults, alcoholic beverages make up none or a negligible percentage of their dietary intake,” says Kiri Elliott, registered dietician and British Dietetic Association media spokesperson. “However, for those who drink alcoholic beverages more regularly – or indeed binge drink – access to nutritional information is important in empowering the consumer to be aware of the calorie content in their drinks and to make better choices for their health and wellbeing.

“To date, lack of readily available nutritional information on alcoholic beverages could cause a hindrance to those trying to choose healthy options.”

Diageo’s Baileys is, for some, the entire cream liqueurs global sector so all eyes are on the company to see whether it will slap a nutritional label on its highly calorific cream product. It’s thought not, for now at least.

Elliott says: “The main ingredients in cream liqueurs – a spirit and dairy cream – are both high in calories. The alcohol in the spirit contains 7kcals per gram and the fat in the cream contains 9kcal/gram. These are the highest calorie macronutrients you can get. There is no doubt some sugar is thrown into the mix too. Often a cream liqueur is purchased in 5cl measures and this would contain in the region of 160kcals.”

For every health-conscious argument there is the indulgence aspect and the general consensus is that it comes down to moderation. For producers operating in this sphere this undoubtedly poses a problem.

“As most cream liqueurs are dairy-based, sweet and, of course, contain alcohol, naturally some consumers can be wary,” says Adam Murphy, Kerrygold Irish Cream Liqueur marketing director. “However, like items such as chocolate and ice-cream, liqueurs are viewed as a treat or an indulgence. I believe we will see more consumers wanting to make the most of this occasion need by moving towards products that offer quality over quantity and give them real indulgence.”

ENCOURAGING BALANCE

Even dieticians don’t advocate a Spartan existence and encourage the need for balance. Elliot says: “As part of a healthy, balanced diet, a food item such as a cream liqueur that is calorific but with poor nutritional value of micronutrients (such as vitamins and minerals), should be consumed in moderation. Obviously many health-conscious consumers will therefore choose to avoid such products.

“However, the key to a healthy, balanced diet is indeed balance and the necessity to indulge in something a little more decadent once in a while can promote wellbeing in other ways. I therefore expect many consumers out there, even those of a health-conscious disposition, would still enjoy a cream liqueur tipple from time to time,” says Elliot.

The emphasis for the marketing teams and powers that be, therefore, needs to be on why their cream liqueur is worth the calorie intake. One way of doing this is to talk up the quality.

Dino D Araujo, Amarula global general manager at Distell, says this is true across the board. “Consumers across all alcohol beverages seem to be moving towards better quality brands, made with care and craftsmanship,” he says. “I believe this underscores the success of many of the trends within the global drinks category – the growth of craft beer, the resurgence of novelty gins and the continued growth of high-end cocktails. While there are easier ways to make cream liqueur, we choose not to follow these.”

This quality trend could not come soon enough for many producers, who have struggled against the tide of inferior products and uninformed consumers. “Due to the continuous influx of low-priced, poor-quality cream liqueurs in the past years, premium brands had to significantly improve their product quality to differentiate themselves,” says Florian Iro, CEO of Mozart Distillerie. “High-quality, attractive packaging and unique stories are the key to increased consumer confidence and loyalty.”

Iro says it’s a continuous challenge and communication must improve for consumers to know the difference in quality with low-priced, mostly artificial liqueurs. “Price-driven markets don’t have an understanding of elaborate maceration processes or high quality ingredients.” A way of combatting this, Iro says, would be to put more focus on tradition and quality, “as this is where our costs are bound”. He adds: “Consumers are very much willing to pay a high price for an aged whisky.”

As a category, cream liqueurs has struggled – world sales volumes were down 2% from 2010 to 2015, according to Euromonitor International. To break that down further, cream liqueur sales were in double-digit decline in western Europe (17%) and experienced single-digit losses in eastern Europe (6%) and Australasia (5%). North America – the second biggest market after western Europe – is, however, a beacon of light, with gains of 10%. The future also looks relatively bright as world sales volumes are projected to increase by 2% in the next five years.

Kerrygold’s Murphy thinks new entrants and a push towards premium will drive this change in fortunes. “After a long period of relative inertia, the category has started to become exciting again,” he says. “In the past few years we have seen new entrants at the higher end of the price ladder. As more brands join, they breathe new life into the category, which can only be a positive. It leads to a re-energising of the category, and this is something I am excited about.”

Products that are made from other base ingredients are also changing the face of the category and potentially working the health-conscious angle.

Earlier this year Spanish wine and spirits producer Diego Zamora Group announced the launch of Licor 43 Orochata, a vegetable-based liqueur that competes in the category but contains no cream. Said to be based on a traditional recipe from Valencia, Orochata is made with tiger nuts and infused with Licor 43. Zamora International MD Thomas Clamens said upon release: “This is the first innovation in Licor 43’s history. By innovating we see the cream liqueur category benefiting from premiumisation, shaking up the category and building value. With Licor 43 Orochata we are bringing excitement into the spirits category and offering consumers a creamy liqueur with a difference.”

But does the introduction of non cream-based cream liqueurs put other producers’ noses out of joint? Kerrygold’s Murphy says not. “It’s absolutely a good thing. It gives greater depth of offering to a category that hasn’t had much to talk about in the past. Anything that sparks people’s imagination to think about cream liqueur in a different way is positive. Not only that, it gives existing consumers more choice and has the potential to bring new people into the category.”

Murphy adds: “Premiumisation is the biggest challenge for cream liqueurs. Unlike in most other spirits categories, no one has managed to sustainably build a brand at significant premium to the category leader.”

Distell’s Araujo concurs and thinks the future of the sector depends on it. “The category will continue to perform well, though I do think the type of innovation delivered by cream liqueurs will change course, “ he says. “The flavour card has been played and consumers will likely look for greater levels of authenticity from brands. It’s likely we will see far more experimentation as a result, which bodes well for brands such as Amarula, which has a somewhat exotic African provenance which is an integral part of the brand story.”

LABEL REQUIREMENTS

As for the nutritional information, Barry Badenhorst, KWV brand manager for RTDs & liqueurs, says he doesn’t foresee any immediate impact on his brand, Wild Africa Cream.

“We always strive to be ahead of trends and ensure our labels meet with all legislative requirements. Wild Africa Cream is made from, among other things, fresh cream and we take the utmost care to try to source the best quality ingredients.

“In search of the ‘new kale’ I’m sure we could see many companies – food and beverage alike – pursuing flavour enhancements such as moringa, or various natural and earthy flavours to entice this health-conscious consumer. Cream liqueurs have customarily been positioned as a little indulgent and if consumed in moderation offer exactly that.”

Araujo agrees: “I believe all industries, including liquor, will ultimately go this way.”

So, will nutritional information grace cream liqueur bottles? The general feeling among producers seems to be that it will happen in time, but cream liqueurs, by their very name and nature, are perceived as the ultimate indulgence and that should continue – in moderation, of course.