South Africa Ranks 3rd in the World For Biggest Hennessy Consumption: Mzansi Reacts
World renowned French cognac producer Hennessy recently listed South Africa as one of its top 3 markets worldwide, only ranking behind world economic powerhouses: the United States of America and China. The picture is a particularly telling one, as Mzansi’s ranking globally not only shows signs of a consistently growing demand of the product but also hints at the country consolidating its position as one of the world’s biggest consumers of alcohol all round.
Dubbed “a Cognac capital” back in 2015 by the Moneyweb, South Africa once occupied sixth place almost ten years ago. However, since shipping its very first bottles back in 1866, the cognac company has consistently cited the country as one of its most reliable consumers, with the company’s current CEO Laurent Boillot revealing that South Africa is “sizeable business” for Jas Hennessy & Co.
An interesting analysis that can be extracted from South Africa’s growing love for the brand over the years, especially within the turn of the 2020s, is that the beverage has been a regular fixture within the hip-hop and amapiano scenes, with these being some of the country’s most popular music genres. Within the latter particularly, numerous music videos have featured the brand, including the 2020 JazziQ and Busta 929 hit single “VSOP”, named after one of Hennessy’s drinks. Popularised by some of piano’s most beloved acts, the drink has become a staple of nightlife as well as status symbol of wealth.
A VSOP bottle of Hennessy | SUPPLIED
Cognac is also particularly popular within kasi life in South Africa, where the drinks are consumed as cocktails.
South Africa, according to Wisevoter, currently ranks within the top 10 in the world when it comes to alcohol consumption. With a rating of 29.9L per capita, Mzansi ranks 7th globally and 4th in Africa, behind Zimbabwe, Eswatini, and Namibia, respectively.
The country’s consumption of Hennessy attests to South Africa’s willingness to spend on alcohol at high volumes, as marked by the population gaps, with the USA standing at 333 million people, while China boasts over a billion. South Africa’s population, even with high levels of abstinence, pales in comparison with 60 million people.
Tweeps poked fun at the recent findings, with some expressing sadness and dismay over being ranked so highly for alcohol.
@MalusiThami referenced the recent study which found that most men in the country preferred tea as their go-to drink, saying: “It must be SA women, cos thina we drink tea.”
@LaliHoWard wrote: “With just a population of 61M and probably more than half not drinking at all, we surely have a drinking problem as a nation.”
@Constitution_94 referenced South Africa’s recent success within the sporting and entertainment worlds, saying: “South Africa remains one of the best nations in the world.”