Latest news with #PernodRicard
Irish Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘They love Irish whiskey there': How one spirits firm is looking to Africa after Trump tariff threat
When US president Donald Trump unveiled his tariff plans on the world two months ago, those in the Irish whiskey industry quickly said they would target new market opportunities in Asia and Africa. Yet one emerging whiskey brand has already beaten them to one of Africa's biggest markets. Fionn Cox (27) set up Wexford's Element Irish Whiskey with a different strategy to most domestic-focused brands, aiming to take advantage of the growing demand for premium whiskey in Nigeria . The Waterford native gained experience of the region with Pernod Ricard as a Jameson brand ambassador in west Africa. READ MORE 'When I got out there ... I could not believe the love for Irish whiskey or how much was being consumed,' he said. 'You could run an event and sell 200 bottles of whiskey, which is something we wouldn't be able to do in Temple Bar in a month.' Nigeria, which has a large young professional population, accounts for 65 per cent of the company's sales, due, in no small part, to a €3.9 million, five-year distribution deal the company signed in 2023. 'Our commercial strategy was built around targeting emerging markets in Africa,' he said. The brand is trying to appeal to younger demographics in the growing middle class in 'overlooked' west African countries, initially Nigeria, and is laying the foundations to expand into further 'interesting' markets in the surrounding nations. Unlike previous generations, Mr Cox said, younger demographics were less interested in brands built on 'history, heritage and tradition'. Instead they are seeking 'more contemporary brands', which emphasise 'transparency and authenticity'. The brand name Element was chosen to appeal to African consumers as a 'name they can pronounce', distinct from traditional Irish whiskey names with 'a cúpla focal thrown in'. The appearance of Element's bottles is another choice, aiming for a 'premium look and feel', which is suited to the 'status-oriented' consumers it is attracting in nightclubs where bottle service is common. 'Element works very well in that setting, it lights up very well. It really turns heads,' he said. These choices have been working for Element, with the brand expecting year-on-year growth of more than 40 per cent, from €350,000 in its previous financial year to €500,000 to the year ending in June. 'We are the fastest-growing Irish whiskey in Africa,' he said. Mr Cox has received support from the veteran former Beamish boss Alf Smiddy, an investor in Element and a director on the company's board. 'He loved our focus on emerging markets, and he has been very helpful in connecting us to the right people in the industry,' Mr Cox said. Element's whiskey is produced on a private-label basis by Great Northern Distillery, owned by John Teeling, something Element is happy to be transparent about. When Element was founded, the original plan was to open a distillery, but the 'massive capital investment' involved in setting up its own distillery was prohibitive, Mr Cox said. 'In the next 10 years, we will see a lot more companies adopting this model of independent blending and bottling, which will be great for the industry as it will encourage innovation and new flavour profiles.' In recent months, as distilleries grew wary of US import tariffs, there has been a growing interest in expanding into African markets with 'several new entrants into Nigeria'. 'There are tonnes of challenges in west Africa,' Mr Cox said, noting that registering brands in the region could be difficult and that the collapse in value of Nigeria's currency had added to the challenge of working in the market. Despite the challenges, Mr Cox is 'excited' for the future and is now seeking further investment to fuel export links as far apart as Kenya , Angola and Mozambique .
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Over a barrel: lack of sugar throws Cuba's rum industry into crisis
It's a crisis that would have sent a shiver down Ernest Hemingway's drinking arm. Cuba's communist government is struggling to process enough sugar to make the rum for his beloved mojitos and daiquiris. As summer rains bring the Caribbean island's 2025 harvest to an end, a recent analysis by Reuters suggests that Cuba's state-run monopoly, Azcuba, is likely to produce just 165,000 metric tonnes of sugar this year. That compares with harvests of 8m in the late 1980s. Michael Bustamante, chair of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami, described the situation as 'dismal'. 'You have to go back to the 19th century to find numbers this low,' he said. Cuba is in the grip of an all-encompassing economic crisis, and for the past few years has been importing sugar to feed its people, but rum producers do not have the luxury of importing. 'The regulations provide that all the liquids have to come from within the country,' an industry executive said, speaking anonymously. It is particularly worrying because the island's rum industry has been a rare bright spot in its economy. Big international luxury brands are involved, battling each other in world markets with distinctive Cuban spirits. Diageo, LVMH and Pernod Ricard all have ventures with the government in Havana, often involving tortuous legal structures to placate OFAC, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, which polices Washington's six-decade-plus trade embargo against the island. These companies – and a small British/Norwegian upstart called the Island Rum Company – have invested heavily in their respective brands: Ron Santiago, Eminente, Havana Club and Black Tears. Now there are concerns about their prospects. 'It is threatened,' said the executive. Rum as we know it was invented in Cuba in 1862 when a shopkeeper in the coastal city of Santiago thought he could do better than the rot gut then produced in pot stills on the country's plantations worked by enslaved people. His name was Facundo Bacardí. He began using column stills to distill molasses, a byproduct of sugar refining, selecting the aguardiente liquor on the edge of the pure alcohol, before ageing it in oak. His family, and the rum they produced, became the most famous in Cuba, until they were forced out in the Castro brothers' 1959 revolution. The Castros wanted Cuba to be financially independent of other countries, a never-ending issue for the island, and sugar was at the heart of their plans. In 1970, they mobilised 500,000 volunteers to create a 10m-tonne harvest. The effort fell short, but at least until the late 1980s Cuba produced around 8m tonnes a year. There was always a lack of investment in the machinery, though, which the government blames on the US embargo. Now the 133 mills at the time of the revolution have been reduced to 14, and only six are reportedly still operating. 'The sugar production numbers have been steadily decreasing for the better part of 20 years, but particularly over the last five,' said Bustamante. 'I think it's just as clear a signal as you can get over the dire straits of the economy overall.' The Enrique Varona sugar mill is in the settlement of Falla, around halfway along the island's length. On a recent visit, the workers looked exhausted as they lathed a heavy bit of metal in the hope of keeping the great mill running. In contrast, Pernod Ricard's distillery south of Havana is modern and slick. The French drinks company was the first of the big foreign operations to arrive, doing a deal with Corporación Cuba Ron, the state producer, in 1993. In return for an agreement not to allow other competitors in for 20 years, it took over the Havana Club brand, building sales from 300,000 cases to over 4m. 'They made a huge investment in a moment in which no one had the guts to invest in Cuba,' said Luca Cesarano, who until recently ran the rival brand of Ron Santiago. With the end of that agreement in 2013, others such as Diageo arrived. Unlike Pernod Ricard, they were not distilling themselves, but employing rum makers – known as maestros – to make specific spirits in Cuba's state distilleries. They were also using historic collections of rum that the maestros had for years been storing in oak barrels across the country, even as the roofs of their bodegas grew full of holes. These high-end products have fed an international resurgence in rum. LVMH, the luxury powerhouse, arrived to make Eminente, creating the Hotel Eminente in Paris to promote it. The upstart Island Rum Company has found a strong following in Cuba and abroad by associating itself with young Cuban musicians (its Black Tears brand takes its name from a Cuban song, Lagrimas Negras. But with the supply of molasses drying up, all this work is threatened. 'I think the fourth quarter will be particularly tough,' said the executive. 'There won't be any alcohol.'
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Pernod Ricard replaces head of cognac division amid industry troubles
PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - Philippe Neusch, Pernod Ricard's vice president of cognac, has left his role, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by a group spokesperson on Wednesday. Neusch, who led cognac house Martell for fewer than two years as the industry grapples with weak demand and international trade tensions, will be replaced by Francois-Xavier Morizot, who already heads the group's champagne business. (This story has been refiled to correct the company's name in paragraph 1)
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Pernod Ricard to pass on price cut benefits to consumers after UK-India FTA
Alcoholic beverage company Pernod Ricard India on Wednesday said it will extend benefits of price reduction on imported liquor to consumers following implementation of the free trade agreement between India and UK. Terming the India-UK FTA as a "positive step forward for both the industry and consumers", Pernod Ricard India (PRI) said it will improve access to premium Scotch whiskies . "Notably, the FTA is expected to improve access to premium Scotch whiskies by making them more competitively priced, as reductions in import duties on Bottled in Origin products will translate into lower retail prices across most states," said a PRI spokesperson. Under the trade pact, announced earlier this month, India will reduce duties on UK whisky and gin from 150 per cent to 75 per cent, and further to 40 per cent by the tenth year. PRI is the subsidiary of French spirits maker Pernod Ricard. It leads the india market in terms of sales. According to PRI, while the formal details of the UK-India FTA are still awaited, the agreement in principle marks a positive step forward for both the industry and consumers. However, PRI also added that it will have a minimum impact on the prices of IMFL ( India Made Foreign Liquor ). "These price reductions will benefit Indian consumers, while having minimal impact on Indian Made Foreign Liquor, which remains at a significantly lower price point," the spokesperson said. In India, retail prices of liquor are controlled by policies of respective state governments. They identify import duty as a separate component of the retail selling price in their respective areas. "Once the final terms are officially announced, we will continue to assess the implications of the FTA as they come into effect," said PRI. Earlier British spirits maker Diageo, which owns brands such as Johnny Waker had said it expects a reduction of "high single digit" in consumer prices along with additional volume growth after implementation of the India-UK free trade agreement Pernod Ricard's global portfolio comprises over 200 premium brands, including 100 Pipers, Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet, Absolut, Havana Club and Jacob's Creek. It also owns IMFL brands such as Blenders Pride, Imperial Blue and Royal Stag.
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Business Standard
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Pernod Ricard to cut Scotch prices in India after UK trade deal
The Indian arm of French liquor giant Pernod Ricard said on Wednesday that the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) will enable it to reduce prices of imported liquor for Indian consumers. 'The FTA is expected to improve access to premium Scotch whiskies by making them more competitively priced, as reductions in import duties on 'Bottled in Origin' products will translate into lower retail prices across most states,' said a Pernod Ricard India spokesperson, reported news agency PTI. Bottled in Origin (BIO) refers to premium spirits bottled in their country of origin before being imported to India, commanding some of the highest price points in the market. Duties to be slashed under new trade deal Under the FTA, the current 150 per cent import duty on Scotch whisky will be cut to 75 per cent initially and then gradually reduced to 40 per cent over the next 10 years. However, the spokesperson also noted that while the price reductions will benefit Indian consumers, they will have minimal impact on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), which already sells at much lower price points. Pernod Ricard's global portfolio includes brands like 100 Pipers, Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet, and Absolut. In the IMFL category, it sells products such as Blenders Pride, Imperial Blue, and Royal Stag, making it the market leader in India by sales. India's growing Scotch whisky appetite India has already overtaken France in Scotch whisky imports by volume, bringing in 192 million bottles in 2024, up from 167 million in 2023. The trade agreement is expected to further boost these numbers. Mark Kent, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said that the duty cuts 'will be transformational for the industry and has the potential to increase Scotch whisky exports to India by £1 billion over the next five years, creating 1,200 jobs across the UK.' Last week, Diageo Plc also said it would reduce prices of its Scotch whisky brands in India following the implementation of the FTA.
