Search Interest in Tequila Surges as Celebrity Brands and Pre-Mixed Cocktails Reach New Heights

To promote their latest venture, Pantalones Tequila, Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila rode motorcycles bottomless through the agave fields of Jalisco. It quickly proved a viral hit. (Photo: Pantalones Tequila)

As competing alcohol brands vie for attention in a crowded marketplace, certain spirits are piquing the interest of readers like no other.

Taboola, a content recommendations tech company, reports that tequila leads the pack with a 69% increase in readership year-over-year. Runner-ups include gin at 33%, vodka at 27% and whiskey at 13%.

Increased search interest can be attributed, in large part, to the involvement of celebrity investors. There are so many celebrity-backed tequilas that George Clooney’s Casamigos and Michael Jordan’s Cincoro, launched in 2013 and 2019 respectively, can practically be called “legacy” brands at this point. In 2023 alone, the agave spirits market was graced with new ventures from Matthew McConaughey, Danny Trejo, F1 racer Lewis Hamilton and “Real Housewives of New York” star Erin Lichy.

Celebrities — alongside a burgeoning interest in additive-free spirits and “ultra-premium” brands — have catapulted tequila to new heights. Exports from Mexico reached 401.4 million liters in 2023, up from 136.4 million liters in 2009.

Another crucial factor is the rise of spirits-based pre-mixed cocktails, commonly known as RTDs. While the 2010s were dominated by hard seltzer brands like White Claw and Truly, the 2020s have introduced fuller-flavored canned cocktails, more often than not made with tequila or vodka. The RTD sector reached $10 billion in US off-trade sales throughout 2022; the category as a whole is projected to reach $40 billion by 2027.

The House of Delola cocktails launched in April 2023 with tequila, vodka and amaro flavors. (Photo: The House of Delola)

Here too celebrities have staked their involvement. Last year, pre-mixed tequila cocktail launches were backed by the likes of Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez, RuPaul and Canelo Alvarez. Since the beginning of March, both Kendall Jenner and Dan Aykroyd have forayed into canned vodka cocktails. Needless to say, liquor store shelves are bustling with a lot of options.

According to Taboola, the tequila market is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels by next year. As interest grows, consumers will prove which celebrity-backed brands can stand the boozy test of time.

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