Ian Macleod Distillers is planning to drive the distribution of Edinburgh Gin to new heights this year, build its portfolio of full-strength gins, enhance the presence of its Scotches in travel retail and grow its business in Asia Pacific.
These are among the priorities set out by Global Travel Retail Director Williams Ovens as the company invests in its travel retail team and in high-profile activations, led by UK travel retail.
For 2019 and into 2020, Ovens said Edinburgh Gin remains top of the agenda for growth in the channel. He said: “We aim to drive the distribution and visibility of Edinburgh Gin, which is the UK’s number one gin liqueur and the UK’s number two super-premium gin. We currently have a strong presence in UK travel retail and in select global travel retail outlets in Europe and Asia but we can now really move forward and take the brand to the next level, assisted by new recruits to the team.”
A factor in building that visibility will be making a statement with the range of new full-strength flavoured gins, among them Rhubarb & Ginger and Watermelon & Lime (the latter exclusive to Dufry).
Ovens noted: “As Edinburgh Gin’s Rhubarb & Ginger liqueur was the originator of the flavoured gin boom, we feel this is a natural step forward in to full strength flavours. Edinburgh Gin’s Rhubarb & Ginger liqueur is the number one gin liqueur SKU in the UK by some distance.”
Growing the Scotch business, the traditional mainstay of Ian Macleod Distillers sales, is also high on the agenda, Ovens said.
“King Robert 11 blend is our company’s top selling brand, with real scale in the Middle East, parts of Asia and Africa. We see potential to make more of an impact in GTR with this brand, given the levels of awareness it has.”
He said the company will seek to activate Glengoyne single malt in more impactful ways in relevant outlets, rather than gaining new distribution, with limited volumes available.
One of the company’s fast-growing brands is Smokehead single malt, which Ovens said has strong potential in the channel. “Smokehead is growing at +50% per year globally, and the bold and distinct packaging, unique flavour profile and ‘not for everyone’ proposition really seems to resonate.”
By geography, the company is seeking to build on a strong domestic presence in Asia Pacific and to make gains in travel retail. “We are increasing our focus on Asia Pacific travel retail and have enjoyed a step change in presence there over the past six months,” said Ovens.
As a smaller independent player, Ovens said that Ian Macleod needs to stand out on-shelf but also in its in-store marketing to seize traveller’s attention. Recent activations with Tamdhu and Glengoyne at Edinburgh Airport underline its commitment to investment.
“There has been a marked step change in the level of activation for our brands over the past year. We don’t have the very large A&P budgets some of the major players have, so we have to be very targeted in our approach. That said, we work with a fantastic creative agency and we would like to think that when we activate, we do so in an impactful and premium way.”
Differentiating the offer is equally important to lift brand visibility, with exclusives playing a key role.
“Consumer research shows that exclusives are a key purchase motivator. The majority of our GTR range is now made up of GTR exclusives,” said Ovens. These include Glengoyne’s Spirit of Oak full range; the Smokehead Extra Rare and Tamdhu ranges (Ambar 14yo and Gran Reserva); Edinburgh Gin’s core full strength expression, Distillers’ Cut and the new Watermelon & Lime Full Strength expression, plus the King Robert 11 Deluxe expression.
Building on these will be further new expressions later this year. These will include a new travel retail exclusive line from Smokehead (Rum Riot), as reported, and a further Edinburgh Gin expression to be revealed at Cannes.
Ovens added: “We are hugely excited about the launch, under Ian Macleod ownership, of the much lauded Rosebank Single Malt (seen by many as the ‘King of Lowland’ malts). GTR may well play a key part of the launch of this brand.” As reported, Rosebank was a closed distillery but has since been reopened under Ian Macleod Distillers ownership.
Ian Macleod Distillers is also investing in its teams to grow the travel retail business.
Ovens said: “Along with the longstanding members of the team – Lars Bruns and Gwen Fleming – we have added three new team members: Mark Robinson, Sarah Tounsi and Katie Burns.”
Robinson joined as Business Development Manager and has extensive experience in the channel, having spent 19 years in Imperial Tobacco’s team, latterly as Head of Global Accounts and Customer Marketing.
He manages the UK (excluding Dufry), Southern & Western Europe and Middle East and Africa. He is joined by Trade Activations Executive Travel Retail Sarah Tounsi and Katie Burns who provide additional administrative support.
“We are still a relatively small team, but the additional personnel will make a major difference,” said Ovens.
Looking ahead, Ovens said there are some big opportunities for the business in the channel. “Our brands across the portfolio grew very well in 2018 and we are on track for continued solid growth in 2019.”
