Interview: Irish Whiskey Aiming High as Global Firms Invest

BROMSGROVE, England, September 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Irish whiskey can become 10% of global whisk(e)y category sales helped by drinks firms' renewed interest in the sub-sector, according to the head of Pernod Ricard's Irish Distillers unit.

In an exclusive interview with just-drinks this week, the division's CEO, Anna Malmhake, said the sub-category is currently so small that it would be "ridiculous" for rival firms to "start elbowing one another". "If together we can make Irish whiskey over time 10% of the world's whisk(e)y market, there's plenty of room for all of us," she said.

Irish whiskey currently accounts for 4% of global sales in the whisk(e)y category. Pernod last week officially unveiled a EUR100m (US$132.6m) upgrade to its Midleton Distillery, while its competitors, including Beam Inc, which acquired Cooley Distillery in 2011, and Diageo, owner of the Bushmills brand, are both investing in their brands. William Grant & Sons is also putting its weight behind recent purchase Tullamore Dew.

"The industry is alive, it's innovating and investing," said Malmhake.

Meanwhile, Malmhake defended Irish whiskey's performance in China, admitting that premium Scotch brands played more into the hands of the country's consumers wanting "bling" products.

But, Malmhake added: "People (in China) are getting a bit tired with the most blingy things and are looking for more craft products. It (China) is a huge market; Irish whiskey can have a part of it."

Read the full exclusive interview at just-drinks.com.

Aboutjust-drinks.com

Established in 1999, just-drinks is a leading online resource for the global beverage industry, publishing around 20 news articles, analysis features and insights every working day. Under the direction of managing editor Olly Wehring, its experienced team of journalists, consultants and analysts provide a unique and comprehensive blend of reports and interpretation of the beverage industry, including key events, trends, interviews and research that are delivered to over 92,000 business executives per month.

Via its web site, webinars and in-depth management briefings just-drinks offers insight into soft drinks, wine, beer, liqueur and whiskies industry developments and supply-chain trends, brand and corporate strategies, CONSULT research platform, enterprise technologies such as PLM and ERP. Furthermore, just-drinks supplies news on manufacturing developments and how the drinking industry retailers perform around the world.
For details of how just-drinks is helping decision makers make decisions, visit http://www.just-drinks.com.

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