Why are Angostura bitters so popular? Here are 6 reasons why Angostura bitters are so popular
Why are Angostura bitters the only bitters you can find anywhere? Angostura bitters are a staple ingredient found in even the most poorly stocked bars and liquor stores, heck you can even find them in Walmart! How are they so dominant? Here are 6 reasons why Angostura dominates all their competitors!
Reason 1 — They used networks early on
Angostura bitters were frequently used by sailors to alleviate seasickness. The sailors helped spread the product from Venezuela and Trinidad to as far as England. Sailors were a perfect group to have as enthusiastic customers. For the sailors, it helped with seasickness, and for Angostura, it was an ideal way to spread the product to new markets and had the added benefits of referrals. Sailors were a great network to propel a product, especially as they transitioned from health to cocktails because we all know sailors love to drink.
Reason 2 — Royalty
The company actively worked to get royal stamps of approval.
If a product has a royal warrant, it gives the product a lot of credibility. Angostura received the stamp of approval from the British royal family, the Swedish, the French, the Spanish, and the Prussians. All the royal families issued royal warrants or stamps of approval. Angostura was able to put a coat of arms on their bottles and be official suppliers of bitters to different royal families. When comparing different bitters, being used by the country’s royal family was the best referral a product could receive.
Reason 3 — Lawsuits and Trademarks
Angostura frequently sued their competitors in multiple countries for trademark infringement to no avail until they successfully trademarked ‘Angostura’ in 1905.
In February 1905, the United States updated its trademark laws. Within three months of the new law, the Siegert brothers, the owners of Angostura, filed a trademark application. The new application was approved and made it so “no other person, firm, corporation or association” had the right to use the trademark.
Several competitors complained that when a main ingredient of the product can’t be used on the label, it makes it difficult to sell their bitters. Just calling them bitters instead of calling them Angostura Bitters is like calling chocolate milk…brown milk.
By 1952, the company had filed an updated label design omitting medical claims and added: “Does Not Contain Angostura Bark.” This is important as they never disclosed their ingredients during any court case.
Reason 5 — Prohibition
Even though people still drank during Prohibition, they started to drink differently. Bartenders started masking low-quality alcohol with different juices and syrups. Bitters were seen as an added expense and bartenders stopped using them and even removed them from different drink recipes.
Many of the best bartenders left the U.S during Prohibition and took their craft to South America, Europe, or Cuba.
Prohibition hurt alcohol sales, especially for domestic bitters companies, whereas Angostura was based outside of the U.S.
Reason 6 — Lack of product innovation
Products like bitters, soda, and scotch tape do not see incumbent brands unseated very often.
A gradual pace of change in technology makes it hard for later entrants to differentiate their products from those of an early entrant. Most upstart bitters are similar to Angostura. Even if competitors discover some means of differentiation, the differences are not drastic enough to prevent the Angostura from mastering them and folding them into its product line in a timely fashion, as was the case with orange bitters and cocoa bitters for Angostura.
Closing
Angostura is a dominant force for these six reasons and is why you rarely see anything else on the shelves. Thanks to the internet we are seeing some other brands out there and most people can buy them, however they stand little chance against the mighty House of Angostura!