GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — Wisconsin-based grocery chain Woodman's Market directed stores to discontinue Russian vodka sales on Monday, February 28. By Wednesday, the Green Bay store had all remaining bottles in a cart discounted to $5.99 each.
While Americans begin to analyze how their imported goods are impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it's important to fact check which vodkas are actually from Russia.
State-controlled stores in New Hampshire are removing Stolichnaya from their shelves because of its Russian branding, even though the company is entirely produced and manufactured in Latvia. The founders were exiled from Russia nearly 20 years ago in a feud over the company, and Stoli has expressed clear support of Ukraine during the Russian invasion this month.
Local Woodman's management say that Russian vodka is not what people gravitate towards in their liquor departments.
"We only had maybe 12 bottles on the shelves, and then our sales rep found a little bit of this stuff in the back," Brian Healey, assistant manager of Woodman's Green Bay, says as he motions to a few dozen bottles of Hammer & Sickle vodka. "Like I said, people don't come in and ask for Russian vodka. They come in for Tito's or Grey Goose."
Healey says Woodman's corporate leadership not only directed stores to discontinue directly imported brands from Russia like Russian Standard and Hammer & Sickle, but the company also encouraged stores to highlight Ukrainian vodka if available. In Green Bay, liquor department staff create a new display in the front of the store with clear signage highlighting the origin of Khor vodka.
Looking to drop Russian vodka? @WoodmansFood29 is promoting Ukrainian brand @khortytsa_USA pic.twitter.com/1Q5WCv9Y9x
— Rachel Hopmayer (@rachelhopmayer) March 2, 2022
"I think it shows that we care, you know," Healey said. "Really that it's just unfortunate that innocent people in Ukraine are getting killed because of this when it has nothing to do with them. I think if everyone can do their part, it'll help a little bit."
As patriotic as the gesture may be, the move is not expected to have massive economic impact: the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States says only 1.2% of all imported vodka comes from Russia, with more than half of the vodka consumed in America produced domestically.
In the last decade, vodka imports from Russia to the states have significantly declined, down 79% since 2011 according to DISCUS.
