Angostura reduces bulk rum distilling

Angostura has reduced its third party rum production after a project to upgrade its wastewater facilities “didn’t work out as well as we’d hoped”, according to the group’s new CEO.

Genevieve Jodhan believes that “the future of rum lies in all categories”

Speaking to The Spirits Business, Genevieve Jodhan confirmed that Trinidad and Tobago-based Angostura made a “strategic decision” in the third quarter of 2016 to reduce bulk rum distilling after work on its wastewater treatment plant ran into difficulty.

“We started to scope out and ask, how can we produce responsible? And we realised that we needed to cut back production and make some changes,” said Jodhan, who was appointed permanent CEO of Angostura Holdings in February this year, taking over from Robert Wong.

“That led us to look at the entire business model to see where we want to be, then reposition the company for the future.”

Angostura has maintained some key supply contracts, but will reserve greater distilling capacity for its own brands.

This change in production strategy has also allowed Angostura to speed up its premium trajectory, by focusing more on value than volume, Jodhan added.

She said of the industry-wide premiumisation trend in rum: “We don’t just think it will happen, we intend to make it happen.”

However, she added: “The future of rum lies in all categories, and mainstream rums are here to stay. Consumption changes by occasion, by lifestyle, and life stage. I do not think there will ever be a time when rum is out of reach for the average consumer.

“But there is an untapped market at the top end that is wide open, and I think rum will continue to push into areas once reserved for whisky.”

To see Genevieve Jodhan’s interview in full, see the July 2017 issues of The Spirits Business magazine, out now.