Tequila & Mezcal - The Business Year

Roberto Real

Director General, Tequila Selecto Amatitán

We grow all the agave we use. We have long since had a tradition of being agave farmers, so we understand it very well, including its growth and production. We understand that prioritizing an excellent quality of agave leads to excellent tequila. We are 100% focused on the international market, first Europe and then the US. Mexico is a difficult market due to high taxes and the diversity of offerings. Exports are different; we pay fewer taxes and can reach a broader client base. The European market is growing, and we are continuously selling more tequila there. In the US, we operate state by state. We began by focusing on California before looking at the likes of Nevada and New York.

David Partida

Director General, Tequila Hacienda del Oro

The best business opportunities for micro companies like ours are in the international market. We have sold to the United States for over eight years and 96% percent of our production goes to that market. We have the intention to go to China, where we have started sending some products. We want to diversify our market, because even if it is growing, there will be a point at which the American market is saturated. Currently among alcoholic beverages, tequila represents 6% of the US market and will continue growing. In the US it is easier to sell bottles at USD25 to USD40. In Mexico, we cannot compete we the agave liquors that sell for far cheaper prices than any tequila, even if our quality is higher.

Manuel Benet

Director General, Manuel Benet

Many Mexican restaurants were making the switch to Mexican haute cuisine, and the trend was to focus on Mexico and Mexican cuisine, which led us to shift to producing a quintessentially Mexican drink: mezcal. Mezcal and tequila could be compared to malts and whiskies. There will always be a market for malts; however, the market for malts will never expand the way whiskies will. It will appeal to a specific niche and a specific taste, a more sophisticated market, and mezcal is similar. We are working on different types of mezcals, and the ones in the coming years will be more ensembles and blends. Mezcal is sophisticated, but the market is not yet sophisticated enough in the US.

Eduardo Orendain

Director General, Tequila Arette

Tequila has always been Mexican and cannot be produced anywhere but here. I see a great deal of interest in multinationals coming to Mexico. Some of them come to buy, to partner, or find business opportunities. This only opens opportunities for Mexican companies and people. This is also helping us export to further markets. If we remained small local companies, we would still be exporting to the US through small companies. I am happy that tequila is in international bars and restaurants competing with other top-notch spirits. We want to further establish another base in Europe and explore the Chinese market. We are also selling in Australia, which is a great market for us, and have recently started selling in New Zealand. We work with several distributors that help us reach new markets.

Salvador Rosales

Director General, Tequila Cascahuín

We make traditional and clean tequila, mainly with agave from the Valles area, which fortifies the flavor and aroma. When making high volumes, companies often mix agave from the Valles and Altos zones. Consumers notice a difference in the flavor of tequila made from the agave of each region. We want to distinguish ourselves from others by making tequila from the agave from this region; therefore, our customers identify us with the flavor and quality of our product. It is an important part of our business. In the past, we produced for a large number of companies, but today we only produce for two brands. These two cover about 30% of our capacity. It would be ideal to have 80% of our production for our brands and the 20% for external brands.