Brand Finance, a business valuation and strategy consultancy, recently released a study breaking down the top 10 wine, beer, and spirits brands in the world. While somms and beer nerds may disagree on what deserves to be named the highest quality brand, this ranking relies on cold, hard cash.
The report announced that major brands stand to lose up to $33 billion in cumulative value due to Covid-19, and speaks to mounting concerns about building brands outside of bars and restaurants. That being said, 30 brands managed to pull through and be named the top 10 in their respective categories.
Check out the lists below for a full breakdown.
Top Beers
In March, there were no shortage of memes about Corona beer, and its name’s unfortunate tie to Covid-19. Towards the end of February, the brand saw sales plummet in China, and it eventually became one of the first companies in Mexico to suspend production in compliance with government-ordered shutdowns.
That being said, perhaps there’s some truth to the notion that bad press is better than no press.
Despite a turbulent year for the beer giant, the study found that Corona was by far the world’s most valuable beer brand in 2020. Valued at roughly $8.07 billion, the brand barely dropped from its $8.2 billion standing last year and held onto its first place status. Heineken came in right behind Corona in second place, and was valued at $6.97 billion. In third place was Budweiser, with its value dropping nearly $1.1 billion this year.
The 10 Most Valuable Beer Brands
- Corona ($8.1 billion)
- Heineken ($7 billion)
- Budweiser ($6.4 billion)
- Bud Light ($5.8 billion)
- Victoria ($4.6 billion)
- Kirin ($4.4 billion)
- Snow ($4.14 billion)
- Harbin ($4.1 billion)
- Modelo ($3.8 billion)
- Skol ($2.7 billion)
Top 10 Wines
In both the beer and spirits categories, the most valuable brand was not necessarily the brand with the strongest “Brand Strength Index” (BSI). BSI essentially refers to a consumer’s perception of any specific brand, and a strong value implies a positive reaction and easy recognition of the brand. Moët et Chandon was the one brand to claim both titles in its category, and reigned supreme in Brand Finance’s Wine & Champagne breakdown. Moët et Chandon was valued at $1.4 billion, beating out Changyu, which was valued at about $1.35 billion. Next was Chandon at $985 million, with the following spots listed below.
The 10 Most Valuable Wine Brands
- Moët et Chandon ($1.4 billion)
- Changyu ($1.3 billion)
- Chandon ($990 million)
- Veuve Clicquot ($985 million)
- Dom Pérignon ($803 million)
- Lindeman’s ($534 million)
- Barefoot ($529 million)
- Beringer ($462 million)
- Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei ($437 million)
- Martini ($373 million)
Top 10 Spirits
All three of the top 10 spirits brands are based in China. The top brand Moutai claimed the first place spot with a valuation of $39.3 billion. Brand Finance emphasizes that Moutai dominates the Chinese baiju market, and remains the top growing brand in the top 10. Chinese spirits also saw their market values grow on average by 14 percent in 2020. That being said, the overall fastest-growing spirit was actually Baileys, with its brand value growing 105 percent in 2020. This was only enough to earn Bailey’s 16th place in the top 50 most valuable spirits.
The 10 Most Valuable Spirits Brands
- Moutai ($39 billion)
- Wuliangye ($21 billion)
- Yanghe ($7.7 billion)
- Luzhou Laojiao ($5.6 billion)
- Jack Daniel’s ($4.1 billion)
- Johnnie Walker ($4 billion)
- Hennessey ($3.6 billion)
- Smirnoff ($3.32 billion)
- Gujing Gong Jiu ($3.3 billion)
- Bacardi ($3.1 billion)
