Craft spirits are ‘friends’ of large producers

Craft distillers are more “friend” than “foe” to large spirits brands, a panel of industry leaders concluded during The Worshipful Company of Distillers’ annual debate.

Craft and global spirits are “friends”, according to a panel of industry leaders

Held last week on Thursday 12 May, the Distillers’ City Debate asked the panel to discuss whether spirits that identify as “craft” support or stymy the growth of global brands.

The debate panel consisted of Ian Shackleton, global beverages analyst; Laurent Lacassagne, chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers; David T Smith, spirits writer and founder of the Craft Distilling Expo; Lawson Whiting, executive vice president, chief brands and strategy officer for Brown-Forman Corporation; John McCarthy, head distiller at Southwold-based Adnams; while spirits consultant, commentator and writer Ian Buxton acted as the panel’s chairman.

While Lacassagne, Smith and McCarthy declared that ultimately craft brands are “friend” to spirits brands, Whiting argued that they are a “competitor” and therefore cannot be classed as a “friend”.

“It’s easier to say all craft spirits are friends because all boats are rising, but it’s a fight,” said Whiting. “Craft brands are quite expensive, so coming into retail at very high price points. They might get a trial, but it’s hard to get beyond this.

“The word foe might be a little bit strong, but they are certainly competitors and I would say that all competitors are foes.”

Lacassagne noted that while consumers are attracted to “craft” brands with authenticity and heritage, many global brands also possess these traits.

“Chivas Brothers cannot pretend to be the little guy, we are the big guy, but there’s more craft in Alan Winchester’s (The Glenlivet master distiller) little finger than most handcrafted American vodkas,” he said.

“The Glenlivet is big, but it’s craft. Size isn’t really what matters to Glenlivet consumers, it’s about authenticity and transparency. I could say the same about Beefeater. There are no craft brands, there are just craft consumers.”

Premiumisation trend

For Smith, craft distillers have pushed innovation in the spirits industry and inspired larger brands to experiment, in addition to driving premiumisation.

“The £25 mark is now the median of not the average in gin and consumers are willing to pay more. So small brands have propelled premiumisation.” He added: “A global brand is in a sense a friend to the craft guys, and they are both helping people drink better.”

McCarthy argued that while it’s difficult for craft brands to compete with the scale of international labels, they can increase consumer interest in the sector, which in turn could benefit global spirits.

“I think as a small producer we can offer the consumer more which encourages them to go and look for other brands, which could be big global brands,” he said. “By getting consumers interested hopefully encourages them to go and try something else.

A show of hands at the end of the debate revealed that the audience also agreed that global brands are “friend” to craft spirits.