Tequila logistics europe

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EUROPEAN LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT

Javier PINEDA
Sergio CHINCHILLA

TEQUILA INDUSTRY

1. Describe general industry characteristics in Europe.

Alcohol is a product that has been produced and consumed in Europe for thousands of years, usually made out of whatever materials were locally available. Nowadays Europe possesses a wide range ofuses and meanings of alcohol, ranging from an accompaniment to family meals to a major part of rites of passage. Drinking behavior is often used to communicate the formality of an event or the division between work and leisure.
Tequila is a traditional Mexican spirit that has become very popular in the pasts decades. The tequila is a spirit that became a fashion product in parties, especiallywhen making shots or cocktails. As the European consumer demands quality products, we will focus on the different types of tequilas that are exported to Europe and the logistic of producing the tequila, all the requirement that the tequila needs to be exported and placed in the stores in Europe.
There are four different types of tequilas: silver, gold, old and extra old, the most known are the firsttwo. And for exporting they are divided in 3 different categories the first one is call tequila premium that it has to be 100% of agave blue and bottled in the original distillery of the 180 municipalities authorized to produce Tequila; second sort of tequilas must be at least 51% blue agave and can be exported in bulk for bottling elsewhere. And the last type is the agave tequila; the tequila isproduced from the distillation of the sap of the agave heart.
If a spirit is made from another plant different than the blue agave is not Tequila. The label must indicate the type of the agave plant and also comes with the stamps NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana) and CRT (Tequila Regulatory Council) as well as the category and type of tequila.

In this case, we are going to use the premium tequilabut there is a baste range of 100% Agave Tequilas with unique characteristics that set them apart from each other. These Tequilas all come from middle and small distilleries in various parts of the agave growing region. With over 900 brands available on the Mexican market, it is impossible to evaluate all of them.
To analyze deeply this area of the tequila industry, we took into consideration aEuropean trader of tequila known as TequilaUnlimited. In this case, its selection process is quite simple and starts in Mexico and concludes in The Netherlands. In Mexico, the company’s “eyes on the ground" regularly highlights potential Tequilas. Twice or three times a year, TequilaUnlimited visits the Tequila region and samples the selection of premium Tequila brands. If they find a promisingbrand within the distiller’s portfolio, they order a few sample bottles and take them to The Netherlands. In The Netherlands, Tequila Unlimited hosts tasting sessions on a regular basis for clients, distributors, connoisseurs and anyone else who would like to experience premium Tequila. The sessions help the trader determine if the product would be successful in Europe, because being made of 100%Mexican agave does not ensure its quality and taste.
Not only is necessary to make the product accessible to the consumer in testing sessions, but also it is necessary to put it in the market and to make it easy to find. Therefore this industry holds close relationship with intermediaries that make the tequila available for the European consumer; intermediaries such as wholesalers, Bar andrestaurants, liquor stores and supermarkets.
In this case, the logistics not only involve producing the product and bringing it to Europe, but looking for new tequilas and testing their quality, making them available in local areas, developing relationship with the different types of intermediaries, and satisfying the consumer’s needs.
Regarding the tequila industry in Europe, it is necessary to...