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Campaign aims to protect Irish cream liqueur GI

Irish cream liqueurs are recovering from a “lost decade” of stagnant sales, the Irish Spirits Association (ISA) has said as it launches a new campaign to promote and protect the category.

Sales of Irish cream liqueurs have stagnated in recent years

Over the Christmas period, Irish cream producers are set to collectively record their “most buoyant sales for years”, according to the ISA, due to growing popularity at home and abroad.

Between 2012 and 2016, sales of Irish cream in Ireland fell by 11.2%, from 108,000 cases to 95,900 cases. However, preliminary figures from Nielsen show that sales of Irish cream in Ireland’s off-trade channel increased by 3.4% in 2017.

The ISA has now launched the Love Irish Cream Liqueur campaign to seek enhanced protection of the category’s geographical indication in international markets and protect it from counterfeiting.

“After a lost decade, during which growth in the category stalled, I am delighted to see that Irish cream liqueur sales are once again growing in Ireland and globally,” said John Harte, chairman of the ISA.

“In the lead-up to Christmas, we are delighted to launch this campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of Irish cream liqueur and protect the category.

“We hope this campaign will be accompanied by increased efforts by industry and stakeholders to monitor the markets and crackdown on fake, non-GI produce.”

In the first six months of this year, Ireland’s drink exports were valued at €527 million (US$629m), according to the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI).

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