Pernod Ricard shifts its strategy toward clear spirits.

Pernod Ricard is reshaping its global spirits strategy around when and how people drink, arguing that vodka, gin, tequila, rum and other clear spirits are better placed than many darker categories to meet a wider range of occasions, from brunch and aperitif hours to festivals, ready-to-drink cans and nonalcoholic serves.

The approach was outlined by Donny Tobin, the company’s new vice-president of business acceleration and transformation, in an interview published Thursday by The Spirits Business. Tobin, who previously served as chief financial officer of The Absolut Group, said the French drinks company is moving away from a strictly brand-led model and putting more emphasis on “emerging occasions” and fast-changing consumer behavior.

Tobin’s role sits inside Pernod Ricard’s reorganized global structure. Under that setup, its clear spirits portfolio is grouped in a unit called Crystal, while aged spirits such as whisky and Champagne are grouped in a separate division called Gold. The Crystal arm includes Absolut Vodka, Malibu, Olmeca Tequila, Havana Club, Altos Tequila, Del Maguey mezcal and Monkey 47 gin, among others.

He said the change is meant to help the company respond faster to shifts in drinking habits. Consumers are moving across more settings and moments than in the past, he said, and those moments now develop quickly, often shaped by social media, new formats and changing attitudes toward alcohol consumption.

Tobin argued that clear spirits offer unusual flexibility in that environment. He pointed to their use in premium cocktails, simple mixed drinks, canned ready-to-drink products, lower-alcohol options and alcohol-free alternatives. In his view, that makes the category a broad growth engine for large companies trying to match products to specific occasions rather than pushing the same label into every setting.

The strategy reflects a wider change in the alcohol business, where producers have been trying to adjust to moderation trends, younger consumers’ preference for variety, and the growth of products designed for convenience and daytime drinking. Tobin said Pernod Ricard sees expanding demand in occasions that used to be less central to the spirits industry, including daytime socializing, aperitif occasions and brunch.

He cited brands such as Lillet, Italicus and Malfy Gin as examples of products that fit those occasions more naturally. The goal, he said, is not to pursue every trend with every brand, but to identify the moments that appear durable and place the right labels there.

Ready-to-drink products are a major part of that effort. Tobin said Pernod Ricard does not see canned cocktails and similar products as a separate business so much as an extension of its existing brands. He pointed to Absolut’s collaborations with Sprite and Ocean Spray, and Malibu’s work with Dole, as examples of partnerships designed to make those brands more accessible in formats consumers already understand.

He cited data from IWSR showing that RTDs rose from 6% of total beverage alcohol volume in the United States in 2019 to 13% in 2025. Tobin said the category is growing because it fits specific occasions, especially those where convenience matters and where consumers may be less attached to traditional ritual or bartending.

Pernod Ricard also sees music festivals and similar events as an increasingly important place for discovery. Tobin said some in the industry now refer to festivals as “the new on-premise,” meaning they can function as a substitute for bars, clubs and restaurants in introducing people to brands.

He said the company is especially focused on summer festivals, pointing to events such as Tomorrowland in Belgium, Untold in Romania, and Coachella and Stagecoach in the United States. According to Tobin, festival attendance data and ticket sales suggest the format remains strong. He cited industry research projecting summer festivals to grow by 7%-8% in the coming years, and said Live Nation has reported double-digit ticket sales. He also said that about 80% of festivalgoers are members of Gen Z or the millennial generation, and that nearly 75% of them try new brands at festivals.

That combination matters for global spirits companies trying to reach younger legal-age consumers in spaces where brand discovery is often social and immediate. Tobin said brands need to “show up to be discovered,” and that Pernod Ricard is trying to deploy its portfolio across the festival landscape where it sees traction.

The company is also watching markets where clear spirits have historically had less weight than brown spirits. Tobin pointed to Latin America, especially Brazil and Mexico, as places where cocktail culture and interest in versatile serves are expanding. He said trends that became established earlier in Europe and the United States are now spreading more broadly through Latin America and parts of Asia.

He cited preliminary IWSR data from March 2026 showing recent growth in clear spirits of 9% in China, 9% in Brazil and 24% in India. For Pernod Ricard, those figures suggest the category still has room to develop in large markets where younger drinkers are exposed to global drinking trends faster than in earlier decades.

Moderation is another part of the company’s planning. Tobin said Pernod Ricard is trying to use parts of its portfolio to participate in low- and no-alcohol drinking occasions, including through aperitif-style products and alcohol-free gin. He mentioned Lillet, Ramazzotti and Beefeater 0.0% as brands that can help the company address consumers who do not always want full-strength alcohol but still want a cocktail-style experience.

He said the nonalcoholic segment should not be viewed only as separate from traditional spirits. Citing a consumer statistic, he said 80% of nonalcoholic drinkers also consume full-strength alcohol, but choose different products for different moments. That pattern, if it continues, would support Pernod Ricard’s broader argument that the future of the category lies less in fixed brand loyalty and more in offering multiple ways to participate in the same social occasion.

Tobin said the company had already moved to adapt its structure in response to that shift, including by setting up a dedicated RTD unit in 2021 after demand accelerated during the pandemic. He described those organizational changes as necessary if Pernod Ricard wants to react quickly to culturally relevant moments and translate consumer data into portfolio decisions.

Tobin joined Pernod Ricard in 2003 and has spent more than two decades at the company. In his new post, he said his task is to study changes in the drinks business, work with local markets, identify areas of growth and turn that into portfolio strategy. His comments come as major spirits groups continue to look for growth beyond traditional evening drinking and beyond the brand-building methods that defined much of the industry for years.