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Bacardi was temporarily blocked from exporting Patrón tequila last month as part of a crackdown by Mexican regulators over how the popular spirit is marketed that has pitted the company’s interests against those of rivals in the lucrative US market.
Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), which oversees the industry, revoked Patrón’s export certificate for four days in February in response to a US advertising campaign describing the brand as “additive-free”, according to people familiar with the matter.
The regulator rescinded the ban after Bacardi — the world’s largest privately held spirits company — removed the phrase from its Patrón website, according to the people.
The ban, which threatened Bacardi’s ability to supply its core US market, was an escalation of a wider tussle between the CRT — the only body in the world that can verify tequila as authentic — and drinks brands over whether manufacturers of “additive-free” tequilas can use the description in their marketing.
The issue sets the interests of Bacardi against those of other drinks conglomerates such as Diageo, which says it views additives as part of tequila’s heritage and risks a drop in demand if consumers flock to purer alternatives. Bacardi acquired full ownership of Patrón in 2018.
Mexico’s rules allow 1 per cent of a tequila bottle’s total volume to contain additives such as caramel colouring and glycerine. But consumer demand has led to the emergence of more additive-free brands, such as Cierto, Cazcanes and G4.
“Additive-free” tequila has boomed in popularity as American consumers seek out products without sweeteners and flavourings. But the growing trend has triggered a pushback from the CRT, which has claimed in communications with drinks groups and a new US lawsuit that such marketing can be misleading.
The watchdog filed a lawsuit in March in a Florida district court against non-profit group the Additive Free Alliance, which previously published a list of additive-free tequilas, and S2F Online, owner of the Tequila Matchmaker website and app. CRT asked the court to stop the groups “falsely” certifying tequilas as without additives when they did not “have the authority” to do so. The case is ongoing.
The CRT is a non-governmental body that has legal powers to ensure companies comply with Mexico’s rules on tequila production, and has the power to certify bottles before they can be shipped or distributed.
In a March letter seen by the Financial Times, the CRT warned drinks producers to remove “additive-free” language from their marketing, on the basis that it could mislead consumers, as the regulator could not technically verify the absence of additional ingredients from tequila.
Bacardi announced in 2023 that it had developed an “additive-free” seal endorsed by the CRT, which it was planning to add to its bottles of Patrón — the third-best selling tequila brand globally. The company was forced to abandon the move shortly before its rollout when the CRT revoked permission, according to the people familiar with the matter.
Bacardi continued to describe the drink as “additive-free” in its advertising despite abandoning the seal, triggering the temporary export ban last month, the people said.
In response to a request for comment on the seal and the export ban, the CRT said it could not comment on specific companies, but any commercial statements on tequila bottles had to be supported “by technical evidence”.
It added that the CRT was able to apply “corrective measures” if companies were not complying with regulations.
In a statement, Rodolfo Villarruel Franco, the CRT’s secretary of international affairs, said: “We require alcohol advertising and labelling to be grounded in facts and truth, and to not mislead consumers”.
Bacardi declined to comment.
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