Brown-Forman Corporation recently confirmed plans to invest $200 million in its Casa Herradura tequila distillery in Jalisco, Mexico. Construction is scheduled to begin in July.
“The world’s growing taste for premium tequila is driving double-digit net sales growth of our Herradura and el Jimador brands," Lawson Whiting, president and CEO of Brown-Forman Corporation, told Business Wire. "We believe strong consumer interest in tequila will continue and we’re expanding our production capacity to meet this demand. This strategic investment will improve our production efficiencies and increase our competitiveness.”
Known as a prominent historic and renowned tequila producer, Casa Herradura began harvesting, producing and estate bottling fine tequilas from the small town of Amatitán, Jalisco, in 1870.
Brown-Forman acquired the production company in 2007. The expansion project will help the company meet growing global demands for its premium tequila.
“This multi-phase project includes adding to our distillery operations, bottling, maturation, and processing areas," Elisa Gutierrez, vice president and general manager of Casa Herradura, told Business Wire. "This expansion is particularly exciting as it will also advance our existing waste-to-energy efforts with a new water recycling and treatment plant."
The first phase of the project will prioritize the expansion of water recycling and treatment plants, as well as the capacity for distilling, bottling, maturation and processing to continue Casa Herradura’s effort to remain environmentally sustainable.
The expansion correlates with tequila’s ranking as one of the fastest-growing spirits category globally by value with the majority of the growth within the category driven by the super premium+ price segment. The U.S. market contributes 32 million 9L cases and $12 billion in retail value.
“Casa Herradura was a pioneer in establishing a water recycling and treatment plant that met government standards and is one of Brown-Forman's zero waste to landfill sites,” a recent press release states. “Less than one percent of the solid waste generated goes to landfill, creating a more sustainable process and product. Over the past decade, Brown-Forman has made significant investments in state-of-the-art technology and implementation of processes for environmental care.”