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Food & Drink International
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LATEST ARTICLES
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International Beverage snaps up New Zealand’s Cardrona Distillery
Global drinks business International Beverage has acquired Cardrona Distillery, one of New Zealand’s pioneering premium spirits producers.
The acquisition includes the Cardrona Distillery and visitor centre near Wanaka in New Zealand’s Crown Range Mountains; plus Cardrona’s portfolio of super-premium brands including Cardrona single malt whisky, The Reid Vodka, The Source Gin and the Rose Rabbit liqueurs.
Following the company’s recent acquisition of the Larsen Cognac business, this deal will give International Beverage a foothold in the dynamic New World spirits category, to complement its established and highly successful Scotch whisky and spirits brands which include Old Pulteney, Speyburn and Caorunn Gin. Desiree Reid, who founded Cardrona Distillery in 2015, will remain as Managing Director.
Cardrona is celebrated as one of New Zealand’s most innovative craft spirits producers. Its spirits are produced from grain to glass at the site and have earned multiple accolades since launch, including category wins over 4 consecutive years at the World Whiskies Awards.
International Beverage will focus on investment in the purpose-built distillery site and maximising the potential of Cardrona’s brands in the core New Zealand, UK and USA markets. They will also deploy International Beverage’s global network to build select new routes to market.
Cardrona Distillery founder and Managing Director, Desiree Reid, said: “This is an exciting day for all of us at Cardrona Distillery. Building Cardrona has been a remarkable journey, made possible through the work and support of many, many people.
“I’m thrilled that International Beverage shares our belief in Cardrona’s quality and potential as we embark upon the next chapter of our story together. I look forward to working with their team to bring our spirits to more people in markets around the world in the future.”
Malcolm Leask, Managing Director (UK) of International Beverage, added: “A warm welcome to Desiree and everyone at Cardrona Distillery to International Beverage. We are delighted to have their skilled team and exceptional craft spirits join our business.
“The team has done an excellent job in building Cardrona’s super-premium brands to date with so much integrity, quality and potential for the future. We are very much looking forward to working with them to build on their success within our international network, as we strengthen our premium spirits portfolio for the global market.”
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The Oxford Artisan Distillery appoints Charlie Echlin as Sales Director
The Oxford Artisan Distillery, the English Whisky producer leading the way on sustainable farming in spirits production, has appointed Charlie Echlin as Sales Director. Charlie was one of the first employees at the Distillery and has flourished ever since, building premium distribution for their whiskies in the UK and a growing number of export markets.
Echlin comments: “I have loved the mission at The Oxford Artisan Distillery since day 1. Working with heritage grains, this company is leading the revolution in tackling sustainable farming and producing uniquely delicious whiskies too. With Distill Ventures as partners, we have ambitious and exciting growth plans in place and I am delighted to lead the Sales team.”
The Oxford Artisan Distillery is seeking to revolutionise farming practices in the category. They produce whisky using biodiverse populations of ‘heritage’ grains, cultivated exclusively for them using a technique known as Restorative Continuous Grain Cropping (R-CGC).
This means they don’t use chemicals and grow with just an understory of clover. This approach has a multitude of benefits: sequestering carbon; improving soil and river health; creating life-rafts for biodiversity and restoring eco-systems within arable fields. Also the fact these grains were originally bred for their flavour in the production of beer and bread for example, means they lend themselves to producing uniquely delicious whiskies.
Mark Harvey, Managing Director Sales & Marketing, comments: “I’m delighted to announce this well-deserved promotion of Charlie Echlin to Sales Director. His ability to build strong mutually beneficial commercial relationships is second to none. I am excited to see what he will achieve as we introduce our proposition to a growing audience in the UK and abroad.”
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Ginsters invests £4m in ‘Taste the Effort’ campaign and brand new TVC
Savoury Pastry Category leaders, Ginsters, is launching a brand-new ‘Taste the Effort’ brand campaign – investing a huge £4million on TV, OOH, social, PR and shopper marketing with an OTS of x11.
The new campaign represents the brand’s biggest and most ambitious spend to date, reaching 90% of all UK households and 98% of Ginsters’ target audience, landing powerful messages about Ginsters’ dedication to making deliciously tasty, high-quality products.
‘Taste the Effort’ aims to shine a spotlight on the dedication and care that goes into making Ginsters’ delicious savoury pastry range. The campaign specifically highlights the high-quality British and local ingredients that go into all Ginsters’ products, told through an entertaining character and champion for the brand.
‘Taste the Effort’ will launch with an exciting new TVC on Friday 6th October, on air until w.c. 20th November, telling the story of ‘Merryn’ a local Cornish farmer, who goes above and beyond with the effort she puts into growing the highest quality vegetables for Ginsters’ delicious and iconic pasties.
Through Merryn, Ginsters aims to tell their brand stories in a highly engaging and entertaining way. Seen in a farm setting, Merryn will humanise the Ginsters brand, using humour to connect with audiences up and down the country and creating cut through versus other ‘farm to fork’ stories.
The new ‘Taste the Effort’ campaign is landing in market shortly after the recent launch of Ginsters’ new identity and pack design, working in harmony to communicate the company’s rich heritage and dedication to quality. Available in store now across the whole Ginsters product portfolio, this significant investment will bring excitement to the category, driving deeper education about provenance and ingredients and highlighting Ginsters’ use of 100% British meat and locally sourced veg.
Emma Stowers, Ginsters Marketing Director, commented: “We are really excited to launch our new ‘Taste the Effort’ campaign. This significant investment in our new brand platform and brand identity will bring excitement to the category and dial up a strong association with the quality and delicious taste of our products.”