Mexico’s Tequila Exports Toppled All-Time Records in 2022

Thanks to celebrity endorsements and “premiumization”, tequila exports are catching up to beer to become one of Mexico’s most lucrative industries. (Photo: ULISES RUIZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Anyone with their finger on the pulse could tell you that tequila has been exploding in popularity across the United States.

According to The Ministry of Economy and the Agricultural Markets Consulting Group (GCMA), 2022 was Mexico’s biggest year for tequila exports yet.

Sales of the spirit amounted to USD 3.6 billion between January and October 2022 – a whopping 34.1 percent jump year-over-year.

This is a far cry from 2012, when Mexico’s tequila exports amounted to only $849 million.

Tequila and mezcal have slowly been inching their way up the charts over the past few years to become some of the world’s fastest-growing spirits. Market projections have shown that tequila may even surpass vodka as America’s favorite spirit by the end of the decade.

The still-ballooning popularity of agave spirits has been facilitated by two key factors.

On the one hand, the rise of so-called “ultra-premium” brands has swept liquor store shelves across the country. Brands like Clase Azul, Don Julio and Casa Dragones have all sought to reconceptualize tequila as a luxury collector’s item, far-flung from the drunken college antics that many still associate with the spirit.

President and CEO of Japanese spirits giant Suntory frankly remarked of American tequila consumers, “A polarization is happening in the U.S. market: one is toward the premium; the other one is less alcohol drinking,”

Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami, who recently announced plans to expand into the premium tequila market. (Photo: TORU YAMANAKA/AFP via Getty Images)

The shift towards premium has coincided with the rise of celebrity-backed tequila brands.

While celebrities have long sought to associate themselves with the likes of whiskey, wine and everything in between, the business of tequila has become a uniquely popular phenomenon among our favorite stars.

The trend can be traced back to 2017 when actor George Clooney and businessman Rande Gerber sold their tequila brand Casamigos to Diageo for a headline-grabbing $1 billion.

Brands like Casamigos have popularized tequila by capturing the cultural zeitgeist. (Photo: Casamigos)

It was an astounding number that attracted the attention of many a would-be celebrity entrepreneur. Since then, the tequila market has been descended upon by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kendall Jenner, Kevin Hart, Eva Longoria, Nick Jonas and many more.

As Mexico’s tequila exports continue to grow year after year, it is unclear whether premiumization and celebrity sponsorship will remain the industry’s driving factors.

Quite possibly, new trends will arise to capture the imagination and demand of American consumers.

Here at The Daily Pour, we do more than write about current events in spirit. We are the only media property reviewing spirits and aggregating the scores and reviews of other significant voices in the spirit world in one place. If you’re interested in getting a shot of spirit in your morning email, sign up for our Whiskey Deal of the Day Newsletter