South Korea: Diageo toasts success of low-alcohol W Signature 12 whiskey

Diageo Korea recorded solid growth in the low-alcohol whiskey market in the past three months on the rising popularity of its W Signature 12, which launched last October, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported on February 20.

The Korean unit of the British alcohol producer said on February 19 that its market share in the low-alcohol whiskey market rose by 6.2 percentage points in the past three months.

Its market share stands at 32.9 percent as of January, the company’s highest since it entered the niche market back in 2015 to diversify its alcohol portfolio.

The low-alcohol whiskey market is considered an alternative to the traditional whiskey market, where high alcohol levels and expensive price tags turn off younger drinkers.

Diageo Korea launched W Ice in 2015, followed by W Signature 17 in 2016 and W Signature 12 last year.

Since W Signature 12 was launched last October, Diageo Korea’s market share in the category jumped from 26.7 percent to 32.9 percent.

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