Suntory Global Spirits Posts Growth In 2024, Despite North America Challenges
Suntory Global Spirits built on its $5.6 billion sales base in 2024, posting positive gains despite challenges in North America and other key regions. The company has set a goal of reaching $10 billion in sales by 2030. While that milestone may be harder to attain given difficult industry conditions lately, Suntory continued to drive towards it last year, led by growth in RTDs and Japanese whisky. According to Impact Databank, Suntory Global Spirits is the third-ranked global spirits player, with annual volume of approximately 145 million cases.
In the U.S., the ready-to-serve cocktail brand On the Rocks had a strong performance last year, advancing an estimated 7.5% to just under 800,000 cases, according to Impact Databank. The brand recently added a new Lemon Drop Martini to its range. Top sellers Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark saw U.S. depletions dip in 2024, but the company said Jim Beam still delivered low-single-digit sales and volume growth globally, bolstered by record sales in Japan, while its American whiskey portfolio overall grew share.
In addition to On the Rocks, double-digit global gains in RTDs were also propelled by the expansion of the -196 brand, which last year debuted a new U.S. campaign called “Unusual Your Usual.” The 6% abv label, which uses a “freeze, crush, infusion” process in which whole fruit is frozen in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius, has global volume of 30.5 million cases, according to Impact Databank.
The group’s House of Suntory saw 2024 sales lifted by Japanese gin Roku, which was up by low single-digits, along with double-digit growth for Japanese whiskies Hibiki and Yamazaki. Overall, Suntory noted that while conditions remain difficult in North America, Asia Pacific was a clear bright spot for the group.
“2024 was a challenging year, as global cost increases and inflation persisted, leading to economic stagnation in many countries,” said Suntory Holdings president and CEO Takeshi Niinami. “As a result, market conditions and the competitive environment deteriorated across multiple regions and businesses.”
Still, he added, despite the tough climate, “Suntory Group leveraged its strengths as a global, multifaceted beverages company, and achieved record-high revenue and operating income for the full year. It has now been 10 years since we acquired Beam Inc. in 2014, marking the beginning of our full-scale globalization, and since I assumed the role of president. Compared to before that time, Suntory Group’s revenue has more than doubled, while operating profit has grown 2.5 times.”
Last fall, Suntory Holdings announced the promotion of Nobuhiro Torii to president, effective in late March, with Niinami remaining CEO and also becoming chairman. The great-grandson of Shinjiro Torii, who founded Suntory predecessor company Torii Shoten, Torii is currently executive vice president.-Daniel Marsteller
| Suntory Global Spirits—Key Brands in the U.S. (thousands of 9-liter case depletions) |
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| Brand | Type | 2023 | 2024E | Percent Change1 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Beam2 | Bourbon | 5,730 | 5,500 | -4.0% | ||
| Maker’s Mark | Bourbon | 2,300 | 2,220 | -3.5% | ||
| Hornitos | Tequila | 1,730 | 1,565 | -9.5% | ||
| On the Rocks | RTS | 738 | 793 | 7.5% | ||
| Knob Creek | Bourbon | 531 | 508 | -4.4% | ||
| Basil Hayden | Bourbon | 502 | 479 | -4.5% | ||
| Old Grand-Dad | Bourbon | 135 | 143 | 6.5% | ||
| Total Key Brands3 | 11,665 | 11,208 | -3.9% | |||
| 1 Based on unrounded data. 2 Includes flavors; excludes Eight Star and RTDs. 3 Addition of columns may not agree due to rounding. Source: IMPACT DATABANK © 2025 |
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