Teremana’s Success Story: Far More Than Just Rock Steady. Tobias Witte, VP GTR Mast Jägermeister, Interviewed
6 minutes read
Introduction by: Peter Marshall
Teremana is a remarkable success story. This is a follow-up interview with Tobias Witte almost a year after the launch of Teremana into travel retail. We track its formidable performance over the last 12 months and look to the future of the brand and the growth of tequila as a dynamic and exciting category. Might we also see a guest appearance by Dwayne Johnson – The Rock – in Cannes? All this and more in this multi-media interview.
PETER MARSHALL (PM): Tobias, welcome back to TRunblocked.com. And wow! Teremana has really taken the industry by storm – and in such a short period of time. The brand’s success in North America was always going to be a given, I guess. But is your strategy any different when you are looking at other geographies in chasing your growth targets for the brand?
TOBIAS WITTE (TW): It’s now been 12 months since we launched Teremana and, to say the least, it’s been a very busy year for the team here at Mast Jägermeister! We’re delighted by progress so far, and how consumers have engaged with the brand and responded to our activations.
As you say, Teremana initially launched in the US domestic market where it made a huge impact – It was the fastest growing spirit in the US to reach 1m 9L cases in sales.
Three years on, we at Mast Jägermeister were tasked with driving the internationalisation of the brand and global travel retail is playing a huge role in achieving the ambitions for Teremana.
To introduce global travellers to Teremana we chose to focus on key international airports initially as the launchpad for the brand and have collaborated with customers all over the world to establish it in store.
We have had a fantastic response from operators who are focusing increasingly on the opportunities presented by tequila, which is great.
We instigated activations from the word go, to engage consumers and increase their knowledge of the tequila category and Teremana in particular.
2024 was a very exciting year, exceeding our expectations. We are very proud of the hard work by all parties to deliver such great results in a very short space of time.
The tequila category is seeing strong growth globally and this trend is reflected in GTR in both volume and value. Tequila is also gaining traction with increased space dedicated in-store. The future is bright, as more consumers seek out tequila, learn about the category and experience the taste.
PM: So, please take us through where you have now managed to gain listings in Travel Retail.
We have airport listings in North America travel retail of course, but also key hubs in Europe and Asia.
We secured global airport listings from April 2024 and Teremana is now available with major operators in all regions. Over the course of the roll out into the different markets, including the US, Europe and Asia, Teremana has been very well received. All three products, Blanco, Reposado and Añejo are performing to our expectations.
We are still in the launch phase at only 12 months in and are continuing our roll out into new markets. Establishing and building Teremana’s presence in airports remains our number one priority, although we will also be launching into the ferries and border store market.
This year Teremana will also launch into 20 more domestic markets across Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Africa, in addition to the four new domestic markets last year. This expansion will fuel global consumer awareness and growth.
PM: Well, let’s take a quick look at a video of just one of your activations at Gebr. Heinemann’s store at Berlin Brandenburg Airport
PM: Of course, Dwayne Johnson enjoys huge popularity on a global scale. Yet I know he also plays a central role in Teremana’s marketing. He’s a busy man, so what can we expect to see from him specifically in Travel Retail this year?
TW: As you say, Dwayne Johnson is a very busy man. But, that said, he’s passionate about Teremana so you never know! For him, Teremana is a legacy brand – his three daughters’ initials are on the base of each bottle. He is very much involved, but so far as personal appearances are concerned, I don’t know. For now, he is very present in our displays and we even had an original waxwork figure of Dwayne Johnson from Madame Tussauds touring a number of locations last year. But as to when the man himself will appear, we will have to keep you posted on that one!
PM: On marketing Teremana, can you tell us of how Jägermeister plans to differentiate the brand in an increasingly crowded celebrity tequila market?
TW: There is huge interest from consumers in tequila and of course celebrities don’t come much bigger than Dwayne Johnson. Teremana has broad appeal, driving interest in the category as a whole and in the story behind the brand.
Tequila has always been part of Dwayne Johnson’s life. He wanted to create a tequila of exceptional quality that is responsibly made and accessibly priced. More than a celebrity endorser, he’s the visionary who is building his legacy.
He was determined to make it the right way, by hand, even if it takes more time. That approach continues today – there are no shortcuts in the crucial, character-building process to make our distinct, award-winning tequila.
Each bottle is meticulously crafted, starting with the agave. Harvested by hand, only fully mature 100% Blue Weber agave with an average age of six to eight years are selected for Teremana, as this helps ensure the maximum sugars are available during fermentation. Teremana is made in small batches, the agave is roasted in small brick ovens and it is distilled in handmade copper pot stills. We are proudly additive-free.
Dwayne Johnson wanted to make the highest quality, best-tasting tequila without cutting corners -and without the luxury price tag.
PM: How do you see the ‘Share The Mana’ campaign developing? Has it been successful?
TW: We are rolling out our activation campaign, Share the Mana, around the world in key markets, reaching a massive global audience travelling through these hubs.
Share the Mana is bringing Teremana to life with unique experiences, showcasing its provenance and craft production techniques. Share the Mana is part of the brand DNA – it’s about expressing gratitude and being authentic – and with this campaign we are giving consumers the opportunity to share what they are grateful for.
So far, we’ve introduced 23m consumers to Teremana across 16 new markets.
As this is still such early days, we will continue to roll out Share the Mana, amplifying the message to new territories.
PM: Given the brand’s dynamic growth, how will you maintain quality control and sustainability in agave sourcing – especially given the industry-wide concerns about agave shortages?
TW: The team at Teremana has worked hard to secure its agave sourcing. As you say, this is critical to managing a global brand successfully. We are fortunate that we are in a strong position to maintain quality control with our own distillery as well as agave supplies.
PM: I understand that a second distillery has now been built to match the demand for Teremana. Can you still balance the brand’s craft image with the need for the increased production capacity?
TW: Since launch, Teremana has always been crafted under its own NOM 1613. This means it’s always produced in the same location.
This year Destilería Teremana de Agave, situated near Jesús María in the highlands of Jalisco, has expanded to allow for additional production. Teremana’s provenance and artisanal production techniques will never change, however – Teremana is a small-batch, premium and award-winning tequila and each bottle is meticulously crafted from 100% fully mature blue agave, slow roasted in traditional brick ovens and distilled in handmade copper pot stills.
PM: One criticism that you appear to be facing is that Teremana’s premium price point is unjustified given the deemed quality of the product. How would you counter this?
TW: Teremana is rooted in the principles of quality and accessibility. The brand embodies the spirit of Mana, a powerful force that inspires us to foster good energy, bring people together and do the right thing.
PM: So has Teremana been a good cultural fit into Jägermeister’s overall portfolio? It is, after all, a radical departure from the company’s core herbal liqueur business? And are you now in the market for other similar partnerships?
TW: Teremana has fit seamlessly with our portfolio. What’s been important to our success is that our businesses share similar values.
We are the exclusive distribution partner across all markets for Teremana and bring global sales, marketing and logistics expertise to drive their continued success and growth.
PM: So, if there are two things you want to communicate to the industry now, what would they be?
TW: Tequila is a growing category outside of the US, but it will take time and we need to nurture the growth and the category. Education is most important and this is part of our strategy. Teremana is all about quality, doing the right thing and we will continue this mantra as we bring Teremana to more locations.
Specific to GTR, we here at Jägermeister are putting consumers at the heart of everything we do. We want to stay relevant to the younger Gen Z, which will be the biggest cohort of travellers in the coming years. Being part of their overall travelling experience is crucial, from digital touch points to at the shelf.
