Trade News

[Uisge-Beatha]

Scotch Whisky Association secures South Korea certification trademark for Scotch

15 May 2019 By: Lucy Britner

just-drinks.com 

The trade association for Scotch whisky has successfully registered the product in South Korea, as the group continues to secure post-Brexit protection.

The Scotch Whisky Association said last week that an application to register 'Scotch Whisky' as a certification trademark was accepted. That certification, which enhances the industry's legal protection in South Korea, is presently dealt with through the EU-South Korea free-trade agreement.

"The industry takes the legal protection of Scotch whisky very seriously," said Lindesay Low, legal deputy director at the SWA. "Only through robust and consistent action can consumers be assured that the Scotch whisky they enjoy is the genuine article each and every time.

"By securing a certification trademark in South Korea, the SWA has ensured continued legal protection for Scotch whisky post-Brexit."

Earlier this year, the SWA announced an agreement between the UK and the US that will continue to recognise Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey and Tennessee and Bourbon whiskey in bilateral trade following the UK's exit from the EU. 

At present, the UK is scheduled to leave the bloc on or before 31 October. 

[mallios]

14 hours ago, Uisge-Beatha said:

Scotch Whisky Association secures South Korea certification trademark for Scotch

15 May 2019 By: Lucy Britner

just-drinks.com 

The trade association for Scotch whisky has successfully registered the product in South Korea, as the group continues to secure post-Brexit protection.

The Scotch Whisky Association said last week that an application to register 'Scotch Whisky' as a certification trademark was accepted. That certification, which enhances the industry's legal protection in South Korea, is presently dealt with through the EU-South Korea free-trade agreement.

"The industry takes the legal protection of Scotch whisky very seriously," said Lindesay Low, legal deputy director at the SWA. "Only through robust and consistent action can consumers be assured that the Scotch whisky they enjoy is the genuine article each and every time.

"By securing a certification trademark in South Korea, the SWA has ensured continued legal protection for Scotch whisky post-Brexit."

Earlier this year, the SWA announced an agreement between the UK and the US that will continue to recognise Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey and Tennessee and Bourbon whiskey in bilateral trade following the UK's exit from the EU. 

At present, the UK is scheduled to leave the bloc on or before 31 October. 

Όπως αναφέρει το άρθρο, αφορά (όλα αυτές οι ενέργειες αφορούν) σε post-Brexit protection. Δεν πρέπει να ξεχνάμε ότι με την έξοδο από την Ε.Ε. όλες οι συμβάσεις πρέπει να ξαναγραφτούν και φυσικά σε επίπεδο κρατών (One to one). Bravo στην SWA αν και μάλλον ήταν μονόδρομος η υπογραφή τέτοιων συμφωνιών.

[Uisge-Beatha]

35 minutes ago, mallios said:

Όπως αναφέρει το άρθρο, αφορά (όλα αυτές οι ενέργειες αφορούν) σε post-Brexit protection. Δεν πρέπει να ξεχνάμε ότι με την έξοδο από την Ε.Ε. όλες οι συμβάσεις πρέπει να ξαναγραφτούν και φυσικά σε επίπεδο κρατών (One to one). Bravo στην SWA αν και μάλλον ήταν μονόδρομος η υπογραφή τέτοιων συμφωνιών.

Ναι αλλά το trademark protection είναι το εύκολο της ιστορίας το δύσκολο που ελπίζω να μην γίνει θα είναι τα trade agreements και tariffs🤔

[mallios]

6 minutes ago, Uisge-Beatha said:

Ναι αλλά το trademark protection είναι το εύκολο της ιστορίας το δύσκολο που ελπίζω να μην γίνει θα είναι τα trade agreements και tariffs🤔

Υπάρχει άλλος τρόπος?! Αφού θα βγείτε από Ε.Ε. θα πρέπει να υπογραφούν διμερείς συμφωνίες.

[Uisge-Beatha]

1 minute ago, mallios said:

Υπάρχει άλλος τρόπος?! Αφού θα βγείτε από Ε.Ε. θα πρέπει να υπογραφούν διμερείς συμφωνίες.

Το ίδιο λέμε δεν υπάρχει άλλος τρόπος αλλά αυτό πού υπόγραψαν τώρα ήταν ευλολακη τα δύσκολα θα είναι στα trade agreements 

[Uisge-Beatha]

Ενδιαφέρουσες εξελίξεις στο Spey

Speyside Distillers China deal includes "option to invest" for Luzhou Laojiao - TFWA Asia-Pacific

16 May 2019 By: Andy Morton

just-drinks.com 

Speyside brands will now have access to China's domestic and duty free markets

A new distribution partnership for Speyside Distillers in China could see the Scotch whisky maker sell a stake to one of China's biggest alcohol companies.

Last month, Speyside announced a tie-up with Luzhou Laojiao, the owner of China's top-five-selling baijiu brand. The deal gives Speyside access to China's domestic and Travel Retail markets and, in preparation, the distiller will increase annual production from 600,000 litres to one million.

Speaking to just-drinks yesterday, Speyside chief executive John Harvey McDonagh outlined the deal, saying Luzhou Laojiao chose to work with him because bigger Scotch whisky companies "wouldn't give them the cooperation they needed". He said part of the deal includes an option to invest in Speyside. McDonagh confirmed the investment would be in return for part of the company. 

Asked what kind of stake Luzhou Laojiao would take, McDonagh said: "We are prepared to look at all options, but it's going to be linked with sales performance, so for us it's a great opportunity."

According to McDonagh, the deal works for both parties because the old distribution model of relationships "is long gone".

McDonagh explained: "To be a distributor you have no long-term future. You do a bad job, you lose the distributorship; you do a good job, then the brand owner takes it over. Luzhou don't want to do that. They want the option to invest and we're happy to talk with them about that."

Speyside sells the majority of its brands, which include Spey and Beinn Dubh, in Taiwan after two decades of McDonagh building up distribution contacts in the country. However, the chief executive said the company would be unable to tackle China in the same way because of its size. The new distribution deal will open up China's domestic market in one go, and Speyside will also get access to China's Travel Retail market through Luzhou Laojiao's duty free shops. Furthermore, the Chinese firm is contracted with duty free operators and suppliers elsewhere. 

"It's an easy start for us from what was an impossible position," McDonagh said.

According to Speyside, the distribution partnership will also focus on building up a global profile in Travel Retail.

"For the Chinese consumer, they want to see Spey as an international brand," McDonagh explained. "If it's only sold in China its not good enough. It has to be sold in London, New York and Paris. For the consumer to accept it is an international brand it has to perform internationally."

McDonagh also said that ultimately the partnership could see Speyside up production to two-million litres, but that those levels would require the company to build new facilities.

"To go to up to two [million] we'd need more walls," McDonagh said.

The Luzhou Laojiao group controls the namesake Sichuan baijiu brand. According to GlobalData, Luzhou Laojiao in 2017 was the eighth-biggest spirits producer in China by volume with 0.7% of the market.

[Uisge-Beatha]

Αποκλειστική εμφιάλωση για τα 100 χρόνια της British Airways 

British Airways adds another Scottish drinks firm to anniversary list as InchDairnie creates cask

17 May 2019 By: Andy Morton

just-drinks.com 

British Airways will serve InchDairnie's decanted casks on flights in 2031

Whisky distillery InchDairnie is the latest Scottish alcohol producer to link up with British Airways for the airline's 100th birthday celebrations.

The Fife distillery has created special-edition casks for BA that will be aged for 12 years. In 2031, the casks will be decanted into 300 bottles and poured on BA flights. 

Meanwhile, InchDairnie has launched a Centenary Cask programme, which will offer 12 casks to British Airways customers between now and the end of September. Each cask will have its own unique taste profile, the distiller said.

"Although we are a new distillery who have a much younger heritage than British Airways, through the use of industry leading technology we are bringing together decades of industry experience and knowledge," said InchDairnie MD Ian Palmer. 

InchDairnie's tie-up with BA follows fellow Scottish distiller Pickering's launch of a gin tailored for high altitudes earlier this month. The gin is also a result of a partnership with British Airways for its 100th birthday.

Meanwhile, Scottish brewer BrewDog has created a transatlantic IPA for BA customers.

[ioannis]

On 5/19/2019 at 4:48 AM, Uisge-Beatha said:

Αποκλειστική εμφιάλωση για τα 100 χρόνια της British Airways 

British Airways adds another Scottish drinks firm to anniversary list as InchDairnie creates cask

17 May 2019 By: Andy Morton

just-drinks.com 

British Airways will serve InchDairnie's decanted casks on flights in 2031

Whisky distillery InchDairnie is the latest Scottish alcohol producer to link up with British Airways for the airline's 100th birthday celebrations.

The Fife distillery has created special-edition casks for BA that will be aged for 12 years. In 2031, the casks will be decanted into 300 bottles and poured on BA flights. 

Meanwhile, InchDairnie has launched a Centenary Cask programme, which will offer 12 casks to British Airways customers between now and the end of September. Each cask will have its own unique taste profile, the distiller said.

"Although we are a new distillery who have a much younger heritage than British Airways, through the use of industry leading technology we are bringing together decades of industry experience and knowledge," said InchDairnie MD Ian Palmer. 

InchDairnie's tie-up with BA follows fellow Scottish distiller Pickering's launch of a gin tailored for high altitudes earlier this month. The gin is also a result of a partnership with British Airways for its 100th birthday.

Meanwhile, Scottish brewer BrewDog has created a transatlantic IPA for BA customers.

Κάνε κατι σε παρακαλώ με τα γραμματακια έχω βγάλει τα μάτια μου, ειδικά με το κινητό..το copy paste φταίει..

[Uisge-Beatha]

12 hours ago, ioannis said:

Κάνε κατι σε παρακαλώ με τα γραμματακια έχω βγάλει τα μάτια μου, ειδικά με το κινητό..το copy paste φταίει..

Ναι... έχεις δίκιο και συγνώμη αλλά από το κινητό ποστάρω και εγώ και  δεν έχω βρει τρόπο να κάνω κάποια επεξεργασία... ίσως ο admin @mallios να έχει κάποια πρόταση 

[Uisge-Beatha]

Λοιπόν φίλε @ioannis ο μόνος τρόπος που βρήκα είναι να κάνω ποστ σαν plain text αλλά αυτό εξαφανίζει γραφικά φωτογραφίες και active kinks αλλά αν είναι καλύτερα μπορώ να το κάνω έτσι 

US trade welcomes whiskey tariff repeal in Canada, Mexico

20 May 2019 by Lucy Britner

just-drinks.com 

The Distilled Spirits Council blamed the tariffs for a recent drop in US whiskey exports

The trade association for spirits producers in the US has hailed an agreement with Canada and Mexico that will result in the "prompt repeal" of retaliatory tariffs on American whiskey exports to the two markets.

In mid-2018, Canada and Mexico imposed retaliatory tariffs on US spirits imports (10% and 25%, respectively) in response to the Trump administration's steel and aluminium tariffs. Late last week, the Distilled Spirits Council (DSC) said that the administration has reached an agreement to secure the removal of the tariffs on American whiskey.

"With this critical issue now resolved, we look forward to joining the various efforts to support the prompt Congressional passage of US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which includes important benefits for our industry," said DSC CEO Chris Swonger. "We hope the US and our trading partners can build on this positive momentum to resolve all of the remaining retaliatory tariffs that our US distilled spirits exports face, particularly the European Union's 25% tariff on American whiskey."

Earlier this year, the DSC said US whiskey exports had dropped by 11% in value in the second half of 2018, compared to a 23% gain in H1, blaming the tariffs for the fall.

[mallios]

1 hour ago, Uisge-Beatha said:

Ναι... έχεις δίκιο και συγνώμη αλλά από το κινητό ποστάρω και εγώ και  δεν έχω βρει τρόπο να κάνω κάποια επεξεργασία... ίσως ο admin @mallios να έχει κάποια πρόταση 

To plain text λύνει το πρόβλημα με το μέγεθος της γραμματοσειράς. Αλλιώς θα πρέπει να επιλέξεις το κείμενο και να αλλάξεις το μέγεθος από εδώ  

Δεν ξέρω πόσο εύκολο είναι όταν γράφεις από κινητό..

[ioannis]

Όσον αφορά εμένα δεν με ενοχλεί το plain text προτιμώ να διαβάζω με άνεση κι ας μην έχει εικόνες (μπορείς να βάζεις κ το link). Πρωτίστως βέβαια ότι βολεύει εσένα..νομίζω το να αλλάζεις εσύ τη γραμματοσειρά είναι λίγο μπελάς. Όπως κ να'χει θα συνεχίσω να τα διαβάζω οπότε συνέχισε!

[Uisge-Beatha]

6 hours ago, mallios said:

To plain text λύνει το πρόβλημα με το μέγεθος της γραμματοσειράς. Αλλιώς θα πρέπει να επιλέξεις το κείμενο και να αλλάξεις το μέγεθος από εδώ  

Δεν ξέρω πόσο εύκολο είναι όταν γράφεις από κινητό..

Απ'το κινητό δεν έχω αυτό το option 

 

3 hours ago, ioannis said:

Όσον αφορά εμένα δεν με ενοχλεί το plain text προτιμώ να διαβάζω με άνεση κι ας μην έχει εικόνες (μπορείς να βάζεις κ το link). Πρωτίστως βέβαια ότι βολεύει εσένα..νομίζω το να αλλάζεις εσύ τη γραμματοσειρά είναι λίγο μπελάς.

Δυστυχώς το link δεν θα δουλεύει πέραν μίας μικρής περίληψης γιατί είναι επαγγελματικό περιοδικό με συνδρομή. Για εμένα δεν είναι δύσκολο το plain text απλή επιλογή στο ποσταρισμα οπότε αν το προτιμάτε έτσι no problem 👍

[ioannis]

3 hours ago, Uisge-Beatha said:

αν το προτιμάτε

Εγώ ναι..

[Chris84]

Μπορεις απ το κινητό να κανεις μεγέθυνση της σελίδας. Και έτσι λύνεται το πρόβλημα!

[Uisge-Beatha]

4 hours ago, Chris84 said:

Μπορεις απ το κινητό να κανεις μεγέθυνση της σελίδας. Και έτσι λύνεται το πρόβλημα!

Είναι και αυτό μια λύση 🤔😉

Πάντως σε όσα οι τα γραφικά δεν προσθέτουν τίποτα παρά μόνο αισθητικό αποτέλεσμα θα τα ποστάρω plaint text και βλέπουμε για τα υπόλοιπα όπως στις νέες κυκλοφορίες...

[Uisge-Beatha]

Responsible drinking activations around the world - The IARD Digest - May 2019

16 May 2019 | By: The IARD editorial team

Every month, the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking looks at responsible drinking activities from around the world

Once a month, the drinks industry-funded International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, which covers alcohol policies worldwide, reviews some of the industry activities designed to promote a more responsible role for alcohol in society. Here's a look at what's been going on so far in recent weeks.

Diageo brought its 'Don't Drink and Drive' programme to Indonesia at the end of April, providing defensive driving training to staff in the country as part of an initiative to encourage responsible drinking attitudes. A spokesperson said the company is already "working with the government, policymakers, and other stakeholders" to inform the public and reduce harmful drinking. After the training, employees will influence their peers and neighbours with responsible drinking attitudes.

Elsewhere, the group's Guinness Ghana unit also ran its sixth 'Don't Drink and Drive' campaign during the Easter period, finding that drink-driving rates among commercial drivers have dropped since last year's activation. The National Road Safety Commission praised the campaign, saying "the NRSC is grateful for the support from Guinness Ghana towards road safety and calls on all and sundry to help in the efforts to make our roads safe and free from avoidable accidents".

In Vietnam, government agencies, social organisations, politicians, NGOs, alcohol producers and other stakeholders signed up to the 'Responsible drinking and traffic safety' programme, to facilitate active coordination as a means of reducing drink-driving. The National Traffic Safety Committee partnered with the Asia Pacific International Wine & Spirits Alliance and the Vietnam Association for Responsible Drinking to organise the proposal, building on three years of continued partnership in drink-driving prevention.

Heineken Brazil announced its new sustainability strategy and goals to support the socio-environmental development of the country over the next three years, with the inauguration of a new wind farm in Acaraú, Ceará. The farm has 14 turbines capable of generating 112m MWh a year, producing the equivalent of 30% of the company's electricity needs for its 15 breweries around the country. The brewer has a number of other clean energy units around the country, such as a biomass boiler that entirely powers its Paraná brewery, and plans to run 100% of its operations from clean energy by 2023.

In Belgium, Anheuser-Busch InBev launched its first beer shipping container, to transport beer by inland waterway between Liege and the port of Antwerp. Prime Minister Charles Michel attended the launch ceremony for the scheme, which will reduce the brewer's road transport impact by 5,000 trucks per year. In turn, this will reduce CO2 emissions by 30%. The brewer aims to "reach 10,000 trucks within two years."

On World Recycling Day, the Brewers of Spainreiterated its commitment to sustainability by announcing that the country's beer sector has adopted a circular economy model. This model establishes intersectoral agreements with other stakeholders in the production and consumption chain to efficiently minimise the impact of every single beer. Brewers' sustainability efforts are focused on promoting the circularity of packaging throughout the chain, promoting reuse and recycling and the prevention of waste disposal. The initiative also promotes the ecodesign of containers and packaging, and reducing the weight of primary, secondary and tertiary containers to reduce shipping footprint. 

The Kentucky Distillers' Association created its first environmental standards study with Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable. The two organisations partnered in 2018 to measure and report the Kentucky Bourbon industry's first set of energy, water, and emissions data, from 2013 to 2018. The report found that Kentucky distilleries' collective energy and water use ratios had consistently declined from 2013 to 2017, ranking them well below global water usage averages for distilleries. Nine of the 11 participating distilleries ranked in the top 50 distilleries globally in terms of energy-use ratio.

Returning to responsible drinking, and A-B InBevlaunched a new campaign in Brazil to encourage the conscious consumption of alcohol beverages, by reordering the letters of its beer brands' names on social networks. Skol, Stella Artois, Budweiser, and Brahma became Sokl, Sltela Atrios, Bwedusier, and Bhamra to illustrate the negative effects of irresponsible drinking. The switch was carried over to Brahma TV advertising spots during the first round of the Brazilian Soccer Championship, with the slogan: "Sometimes you drink and think everything is in order, but it is not".

On a global level, Beam Suntory started hosting nutritional information for consumers on its relaunched website. Its corporate website, beamsuntory.com, now redirects users to its drinksmart.com responsible drinking platform for brand information such as calories, sugar, fat and carbohydrates specific to a user's location, as well as other details such as alcohol content per standard serving. The new site will also share news relating to the producer's social responsibility commitments.

[Uisge-Beatha]

"There's been a big consumer shift in drinks" - just-drinks speaks to Distill Ventures CEO Frank Lampen

23 May 2019 | By: Olly Wehring

just-drinks.com 

Distill Ventures has an exclusive partnership arrangement with Diageo

Since coming into being almost six years ago, Distill Ventures has continued to make headlines in the drinks industry. The Diageo-backed incubation project may be best-known for investing in Seedlip, the non-alcoholic spirits brand. The biggest break, however, came late last year, when Diageo brought Belsazar Vermouth on to its books after the German brand was backed by DV in 2014. Earlier this month, Olly Wehring sat down with co-founder & CEO Frank Lampen to find out more about Distill Ventures and its relationship with the largest premium spirits company in the world.

just-drinks: Let's go back to the beginning: How did Distill Ventures come into being?

Frank Lampen: About seven years ago, a friend of ours started a company that we had a really small investment in. This company, which designed apps, got all this money, network and support. At the same time, another friend launched a gin brand. It took our gin friend months just to secure the paperwork to get a bottle of gin out of the distillery.

Despite the fact that a lot of the innovation in the spirits category comes from outside the big companies, there was very little support out there. We (Lampen and DV co-founder Shilen Patel) started to think how we could pull together something that had all the support, network and so-on that tech start-ups had that really focused on drinks. So, we started talking to the people we knew who'd started drinks brands to see if there was an appetite - there was.

We got to the point of asking how we were going to fund this. Although we were really interested in the new stuff, we both really liked whisky and were really excited about what was going on in whisky. Obviously, you need serious finances to start playing in that area. We thought it made sense to talk to an industry partner to see if there was an appetite for a partnership. We had some relationships with Diageo, they'd been a client of our agency business. So, we approached them to see if they'd be interested, they said they were. They've been in since the launch of it, but this was something that we decided we wanted to do and we approached them to see if they wanted to get involved in some way. They said they'd like to be the sole investor in it, so it became the kind of partnership that we originally didn't think was possible when we approached them.

It's worked well, I hope, for both of us over the last six years.

j-d: Why was the drinks industry behind the curve compared to food and tech?

FL: From an entrepreneurial sense, there wasn't the support. In tech, you hear investors and entrepreneurs talk a lot about their eco-system - if you need something done, there are suppliers who are really focused on working with businesses like yours. If you need funding, there's all sorts of funding and there's a very structured system of finance. Also, partly due to its nature, there are vast resources online - it's credible to teach yourself coding because you can find resources to do so online.

"The drinks industry is quite weird for its size compared to other industries"

In drinks at the time, there was very little of this. The drinks industry is quite weird for its size compared to other industries - there's a relatively small number of global players. Because of that, there were barriers to entry for other investors, who felt the territory was occupied.

Also, the industry as a whole didn't really have anything like that eco-system. That made things hard for those who had an idea - but were totally new to the industry - to be able to penetrate it and work out how to get something made, how to get it to market, how to deal with the legal issues, and where to get the money for all that.

j-d: How did the drinks industry get itself into that position?

FL: Regulated industries are always harder - you can't just sell what you make at a farmer's market, you have to account for every drop of alcohol that passes through your hands. Then, there's this concentration of ownership, which has historically made drinks less attractive to other investors. The model is that one or two investments in every ten will succeed. In this sector, there are five, maybe six global players, it's an almighty concentration compared to other sectors.

j-d: This landscape still exists now. What's changed?

The co-founder of Distill Ventures, Frank Lampen, sat down with just-drinks editor Olly Wehring earlier this month

FL: There's been a big consumer shift. The 'drink less, but better' thing is definitely true. Part of the reason many consumers choose their drink is to discover new things or to connect with the maker or make explorations with flavour - challenging your palate, almost. We see that kind of consumer behaviour across all industries, particularly in food and drink. Spirits is not immune to that.

There have also been changes in how can you reach those consumers, both in a marketing sense and in route-to-market. Since we've started, the development of Amazon as a channel has been transformational. So, even with that concentration of ownership at a brand level, there are now more opportunities out there.

j-d: Turning to Diageo, how does the relationship work?

FL: We're independent, we take the idea to them. Ivan [Menezes, Diageo CEO] has described the partnership as an independent accelerator in which Diageo is the sole investor.

The existential question for the big companies is: How early is too early to get involved? Also, once you get involved, what are you actually going to do with it, once you closed the deal? In a climate where there's such a focus on performance, how can you ensure that if you do a deal on something really small, you give it the right kind of care and attention as well as the right environment to grow? These things take time, you can't push too fast but, at the same time, you've got to maintain momentum. Can big companies get that balance right? Where this structure has an advantage is that we are totally dedicated to supporting companies at that precise stage. We don't have to worry about Smirnoff or Johnnie Walker delivering their numbers this year - we're not responsible for that.

I'm not going to be shuffled to be the general manager of Japan, this is our company - we set it up and we're in this for the long haul.

j-d: Can you talk us through your evaluation process of a brand?

FL: We start with a discussion each year with Diageo to find out what their priority categories and price points are for the next decade. As part of those discussions, we feed in market intelligence showing where we see hotspots of entrepreneurial activity. The brief has always been to be open to things that are not in the strategic plan. I think part of why they thought this partnership would be of benefit to them is that it could give them another input on where the industry might be going - non-alcoholic is a great example of that. There was nothing in their strategic plan about looking in the non-alcoholic space.

The Starward Australian whisky brand makes a good case study. We were looking at the time at which provenances worldwide could be of interest in the future for whisky. The world is changing and whisky is going to come from other countries than Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the US and Japan. Because of its perception in wine, Australia struck us as a provenance that could be interesting. We started working with people in the market - who knew the market - to get a picture of the scene there. That way, we could see beyond things that were already on the shelf, to companies who'd been producing whisky and laying it down, even companies at the planning stage.

"The existential question for the big companies is: How early is too early to get involved?"

We then had calls with a few founders to try to understand more about their businesses. Then, we went to see a bunch of different producers. What we're thinking about is, who's got a vision and product that could have an impact globally? We're looking for a simple idea that would resonate outside of home territory.

The next stage was to look at the inventory to ensure consistency. Finally, we put together a vision with costings in an investment case. This was presented to an investment board of senior Diageo people. They liked it, so we took it through the process of negotiating a deal.

On a timeline to making an investment, Diageo comes in at the two-thirds point. We've done the filtering and spent some time with them before we start showing things to Diageo. With Diageo as our sole partner, their motive is to look for companies they might want to own one day. Once we're feeling good about it, then we'll share it.

j-d: How often do you meet with Diageo?

FL: At some level, there's contact on a daily basis at different levels of the organisation. There's obviously the process of making new investments, there's also the process of companies already in the portfolio continuing to be supported financially - they're generally going to need more finance each year. Then, occasionally someone's looking for technical advice or has an IP issue that Diageo can help with.
Finally, there's governance and oversight that plays a part. We need to ensure their money is being used wisely. 

The investment board meets four times a year here in the UK, and then the same in the US. These meetings are the focus of the engagement between us in terms of investments in new companies.

j-d: What are you looking for in a brand?

FL: The most important thing is the team. An average proposition in the hands of a good team will always beat the best liquid in the world with somebody who doesn't know how to sell it. Team accounts for well over half the weighting for us. Then, there's the liquid and the overall proposition that carry equal weight.

Products don't have to be fully-formed when we see them, but they've got to have resilience - there are going to be ups and downs. The team behind a brand needs to have a sense of self-awareness and know what they're good at versus what they're not good at. We're less interested in being presented to with an investment deck than we are meeting people and seeing them try to inspire belief.

j-d: What does it take for one of your invested brands to become a Diageo brand?

"What we're thinking about is, who's got a vision and product that could have an impact globally?"

FL: It varies by category and price-point. When an investment is made, we have a collective discussion about the scale the brand could reach and when it would make more sense for it to be part of Diageo than independent. For Diageo's Reserve Brands tier in Western Europe, for example, that might be 30,000 cases a year. For vodka in North America, that number might be 70,000 cases. The discussion also covers whether to expand the brand into other markets.

j-d: Has there been an occasion where you've been convinced that Diageo should move and it hasn't?

FL: Generally, we've got a pretty good record of bringing things before them that are worth investing in and them saying yes to it. Of course, we can look back at things we've fallen in love with - be it the taste, or the distillery. There were a couple of gins in the early days that didn't stack up. We've been incredibly lucky in most cases, but there's always one or two.

j-d: Of the brands that Diageo has passed up, have you made a personal investment in any?

FL: I'm all for keeping life simple. If we make a success of this, that's more than enough for me.

[mallios]

Το βάζω εδώ αν και σύντομα θα πρέπει να ανοίξουμε ένα συγκεκριμένο και ξεχωριστό topic για να παρακολουθούμε τις εξελίξεις.

http://insidethecask.com/2019/06/02/crowdfunding-for-whisky-casks/

https://www.craftwhiskyclub.com/caskshare

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ΗOW DOES IT WORK?

Reserve/Buy

You reserve shares in casks. To keep this simple, shares are in ‘bottles’ and you can reserve 1 or more bottles in casks. You can mix and match from different casks. Experiment with different wood, different maturation dates, different distilleries. Build your own whisky portfolio! The reserve price you pay covers everything except shipping (including VAT and Duty unless that changes significantly). Shipping will be arranged once your whisky has been bottled.

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Και για άλλη μια φορά να πω ότι κάποιοι τα έχουν ρωτήσει αυτά (και ελπίζω μέσα στην εβδομάδα να έχουμε και τα νέα ερωτοαπαντήματα).

 I. Mallios: Last question and I think that is more an idea to discuss instead of a question. Do you think that using blockchain and all this available information will allow you to create a new market, an online market place, for a custom made and ordered whisky? To put it simple, how would you like, see, examine the possibility to have a stock of casks available to your customers in order for them to bottle their own whisky? e.g. a platform that I will have access to information on age, current flavours of maturing whisky, facts about blending results etc, so that I can review and decide to bottle my own blend etc (of course with limitations).

 Mr. G. Dundas reply: 

I think the above is all very well but we are forgetting Whisky is a taste thing, and when you taste a whisky you like, most of the other aspects do not matter as we are enjoying and relaxing. We are not ordering a TV, or a specific technical item here. Whisky is not like that and the differences across casks / warehouses and other variables still gives us as producers and blenders the scope to make the best whisky. I feel understanding is the main point here and as producers, I feel we understand how to make whisky more than the average consumer.

It would also not be the best use of stocks but I think there is an experiment that could be done in this.

 

[Uisge-Beatha]

20 hours ago, mallios said:

Και για άλλη μια φορά να πω ότι κάποιοι τα έχουν ρωτήσει αυτά...

 I. Mallios: Last question... Do you think that using blockchain and all this available information will allow you to create a new market...

Γιάννη δυσκολεύομαι να ακολουθήσω το σκεπτικό σού και την σχέση των διό και δεν είμαι καν σίγουρος ότι πρόκειται για την ίδια τεχνολογία

[mallios]

2 hours ago, Uisge-Beatha said:

Γιάννη δυσκολεύομαι να ακολουθήσω το σκεπτικό σού και την σχέση των διό και δεν είμαι καν σίγουρος ότι πρόκειται για την ίδια τεχνολογία

Λέω ......all this available information will allow you to create a new market, an online market place....... (μην κόβεις τις προτάσεις) και διάβασε και το site τους.

Ενδεικτικά: "Caskshare is crowdfunding for whisky casks. Our unique platform allows....  All your shares are managed via the Caskshare online platform.....

......You can mix and match from different casks. Experiment with different wood, different maturation dates, different distilleries.

Αν εξαιρέσεις το blockchain (που ακόμα δεν ξέρουμε την τεχνολογία τους αλλά η ερώτηση δεν μιλάει μόνο για blockchain) είναι 100% το ίδιο. Αν υπάρχει θέμα με τον ορισμό του "on line market place" τότε ναι, ενδεχομένως να μπερδεύτηκες αλλά είναι πολύ συγκεκριμένο το τι είναι on line marketplace στο Crowdfunding. 

Από την άλλη, έτσι όπως το πλασάρουν (mix and much from different casks) νομίζω ότι είναι πάλι ακριβώς αυτό που ρώτησα τον Gordon (οι δύο τελευταίες προτάσεις).

Αν πάλι έχεις μπερδευτεί και το βλέπεις μόνο σαν ένα On line marketplace που θα αγοράζει όποιος θέλει vasn shares, αυτό δεν είναι unique και νέο, υπάρχει ήδη το whiskyinvest direct (τουλάχιστον). Μιλάνε οι τύποι για mix and match άρα θα μπορούμε να ζητάμε εμφιαλώσεις από διαφορετικά casks (εννοείται από το ίδιο αποστακτήριο, το λένε). Ελπίζω να είναι clear τώρα.

 

[Uisge-Beatha]

5 minutes ago, mallios said:

Λέω ......all this available information will allow you to create a new market, an online market place....... (μην κόβεις τις προτάσεις) και διάβασε και το site τους.

Ενδεικτικά: "Caskshare is crowdfunding for whisky casks. Our unique platform allows....  All your shares are managed via the Caskshare online platform.....

......You can mix and match from different casks. Experiment with different wood, different maturation dates, different distilleries.

Αν εξαιρέσεις το blockchain (που ακόμα δεν ξέρουμε την τεχνολογία τους αλλά η ερώτηση δεν μιλάει μόνο για blockchain) είναι 100% το ίδιο. Αν υπάρχει θέμα με τον ορισμό του "on line market place" τότε ναι, ενδεχομένως να μπερδεύτηκες αλλά είναι πολύ συγκεκριμένο το τι είναι on line marketplace στο Crowdfunding. 

Από την άλλη, έτσι όπως το πλασάρουν (mix and much from different casks) νομίζω ότι είναι πάλι ακριβώς αυτό που ρώτησα τον Gordon (οι δύο τελευταίες προτάσεις).

Αν πάλι έχεις μπερδευτεί και το βλέπεις μόνο σαν ένα On line marketplace που θα αγοράζει όποιος θέλει vasn shares, αυτό δεν είναι unique και νέο, υπάρχει ήδη το whiskyinvest direct (τουλάχιστον). Μιλάνε οι τύποι για mix and match άρα θα μπορούμε να ζητάμε εμφιαλώσεις από διαφορετικά casks (εννοείται από το ίδιο αποστακτήριο, το λένε). Ελπίζω να είναι clear τώρα.

 

Χμμμ🤔  νομίζω ότι μάλλον κάπου στην μέση (ίσως) να είναι η απάντηση... Δεν είμαι ειδικός αλλά νομίζω ότι το blockchain δεν είναι η πλατφόρμα που χρησιμοποιούν μια που το key USP της είναι η ασφάλεια, anti counterfeiting και information. Όσον αφορά την μοναδικότητα σε σχέση τα υπάρχων προγράμματα μάλλον το πλεονέκτημα είναι στην ποικιλία και το εύρος των βαρελιών παρά και στο ότι είναι μετρήσιμο σε φιάλες 

[mallios]

2 hours ago, Uisge-Beatha said:

Χμμμ🤔  νομίζω ότι μάλλον κάπου στην μέση (ίσως) να είναι η απάντηση... Δεν είμαι ειδικός αλλά νομίζω ότι το blockchain δεν είναι η πλατφόρμα που χρησιμοποιούν μια που το key USP της είναι η ασφάλεια, anti counterfeiting και information. Όσον αφορά την μοναδικότητα σε σχέση τα υπάρχων προγράμματα μάλλον το πλεονέκτημα είναι στην ποικιλία και το εύρος των βαρελιών παρά και στο ότι είναι μετρήσιμο σε φιάλες 

Blockchain είναι μία τεχνολογία. Δεν αναφέρω αποκλειστικά και μόνο blockchain στην ερώτηση. Αναμένω να δω πως θα λειτουργήσει (λόγω τεράστιας εμπειρίας σε advnaced επίπεδο σε πλατφόρμες On line marketplaces - όποια μορφή και να έχουν) και μετά θα τοποθετηθώ αν είναι απλά ένα marketing μήνυμα χωρίς ουσία ή αν όντως θα επιτρέπεται το Mix and match και σε ποια κλίμακα. Από αυτά που λένε στο site τους και προσπαθώντας να βρω τι υποστηρίζεται τεχνολογικά (πίσω από την λέξη shares)το βρίσκω λιγάκι δύσκολο να επιτύχεις το Mix and match από διαφορετικά βαρέλια. Αλλά και πάλι, αναμένω να δω πως θα λειτουργήσει.

Πάντως είναι ενδιαφέρον ότι δημιουργείται μία παράλληλη αγορά δίπλα στο whisky (άργησε αρκετά - απλά να αναφέρω ότι υπάρχει online investment platform εδώ και χρόνια που ασχολείται με επενδύσεις σε εναλλακτικές μορφές με σημαντική αυξομείωση στην τιμή και μεγάλο ρίσκο, συγκεκριμένα αγορές πινάκων / τέχνη αλλά και αγορές ολόκληρων κελαριών με κρασί κλπ).

[Uisge-Beatha]

Απανωτές εξελίξεις.... Κινέζοι αγοράζουν το Loch Lomond Group (Loch Lomond Glen Scotia &   Little Mill)

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2019/06/loch-lomond-sold-to-chinese-buyout-firm/

[Uisge-Beatha]

Και ένα πιο αναλυτικό άρθρο σχετικά με την κινεζική επένδυση, την πρώτη από όσο γνωρίζω, στο Loch Lomond Group 

Asian investor fund Hillhouse Capital snaps up Loch Lomond Group

6 June 2019 | By: Andy Morton

just-drinks.com 

Loch Lomond Group was bought by Exponent Private Equity in 2014

An Asian private-equity fund that was an early investor in Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has taken majority control of Scotch whisky producer Loch Lomond Group.

Hillhouse Capital, which reportedly backed a number of China's internet giants in their early days, has acquired a controlling stake in Loch Lomond for an undisclosed fee. The purchase, completed today, is from Exponent Private Equity, which took over Loch Lomond five years ago along with the distillery's management.

The management team, which includes CEO Colin Matthews, has joined Hillhouse Capital in the new buyout. Details on the size of the management team stake were not available.

In a statement today, Loch Lomond said the takeover will expand the distiller's international presence, with a focus on Asian markets, where Hillhouse has "deep knowledge and strong business relationships".

Hillhouse, which was founded in 2005 by Zhang Lei, has a strong track record of investment around the world. In a 2014 article likening Lei to Silicon Valley venture capitalists, the Financial Times said he was among the first to back Chinese companies including WeChat owner Tencent and JD.

More recently, Hillhouse has invested in AirBnB and bike rental platform Mobike. 

In the FT interview, Lei said his company "always focuses on what the business will look like in the very long term" when investing. 

Commenting on the Loch Lomand deal, Hillhouse said it will help management expand in international markets through channels including e-commerce and new retail.

"Loch Lomond's rich heritage in Scotch whisky gives the business a distinct advantage as they look to further build on their success across the world, especially in the increasingly discerning Asian spirits market," said Wei Cao, a partner at Hillhouse.

Exponent bought Loch Lomond from members of the Bulloch family in 2014. The group upped the distiller's international sales from 10% of total revenue to 70%.

Loch Lomond owns a number of whisky brands including Glen Scotia and the namesake Loch Lomond. It also owns the value vodka brand Glen's, one of the UK's biggest sellers in the vodka category. Distilleries include the Loch Lomond Distillery at Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire and the Glen Scotia malt distillery in Campbeltown, Argyll & Bute. Global Travel Retail has been a major focus for the company over the past few years.