Cognac is in a slump. Hennessy thinks it has a fix | CNN Business

At 261 years old, Cognac brand Hennessy is starting to show its age. After a pandemic-era surge in demand, the amber-colored spirit is navigating a sobering reality. Consumers, particularly younger ones, are moderating their drinking or shifting toward premium tequila. As a result, exports from France’s Cognac region have plummeted. At the same time, tariffs from the United States and China are also taking a sizable bite out of profits for parent company LVMH. That has put immense pressure on one of the most recognizable liquor brands to evolve. “It’s a strange thing to have a brand that is not consumed, but culturally very relevant,” said Hennessy CEO Charles Delapalme. Hennessy is a mainstay in hip hop, with its name used in the lyrics of more than 4,000 tracks and has a strong footprint in sports. In 2020, it became the NBA’s first spirits sponsor and went viral last year with its ad with longtime partner LeBron James. It was also recently named the official Cognac of Formula 1 through a broader sponsorship deal with its parent company. But these campaigns have not shed the image that Cognac has been “pigeonholed as a ‘dusty’ spirit — something your dad sips on