On-trade ‘fundamental’ to shaping future of spirits

The CEO of Zamora Company believes the on-trade will be “fundamental” to shaping the future of spirits and cautions that if alcohol consumption levels remain down for a prolonged period of time, it is likely “they will not come back”.

Emilio Restoy, CEO of Zamora Company

Speaking to The Spirits Business in June, Emilio Restoy, CEO of the Spanish drinks group, explained that a rise in at-home alcohol consumption has not been enough to offset the downturn of the on-trade.

Research has shown the majority of people have been drinking the same or less alcohol during lockdown than before the pandemic. If consumption levels remain down for a prolonged period of time, Restoy said “they will not come back”.

“The on-trade is fundamental for two reasons,” Restoy said. “One, it’s the basic way to interact with your consumer and present your product. Two, it is a profitable route to market.

“If this decreases, two things will happen: one it will be more difficult to interact with consumers and consumption could very well decrease.

“We sell things people don’t need; we sell things people want. There’s no need to have a whisky. If you want a whisky, you’re enjoying it either by yourself, as a couple or with a bunch of friends enjoying life.

“If this ‘with a bunch of friends enjoying life’ moment is less relevant, then in-home consumption is not as big and will not make up for the loss of out-of-home.”

Zamora Company’s portfolio includes Spanish liqueur Licor 43, Martin Miller’s Gin and Villa Massa limoncello.

Restoy said the Covid-19 pandemic will undoubtedly result in a sales fall for Zamora Company compared to the group’s original 2020 plan, but also added he is confident the company is well-equipped to weather the challenges of the coronavirus crisis.

“When this all started, by the end of March our vision was pretty clear: we are going to lose revenue and we are going to suffer in P&L [profit and loss] significantly,” Restoy said. “But we want to be out of this in 12 months, or 18 months, stronger than we were before with a higher market share.

“That’s why we have been investing strongly in online and in digital marketing, tastings and in the off-trade.

“We want to leave this period better than we started, and that’s very important if you are a family company because you are thinking about the long term.”

For the full interview with Restoy, see the August 2020 issue of The Spirits Business magazine, out now.