Drinksology invests millions into future

Drinks distributor Drinksology Kirker Greer (DKG) will invest millions of pounds over the next three years to support its growth in the UK and Ireland.

DKG has a vision of becoming one of the world’s leading disruptive alcohol businesses and the financial injection will go towards its workforce and brand development initiatives, with both seen as key to helping the company reach its targets over the next three years.

Ryan McFarland, DKG chief commercial and strategy officer, said: “As a team, we’ve outlined a growth strategy that allows us to build meaningful business for our Kirker Greer Spirits portfolio globally from solid foundations in our home markets.

“This latest investment ensures we have dedicated resources to support the on-trade across key UK and Irish cities, partnering with key national and regional RTM (route to market) such as LWC, Inverarity Morton and Speciality Drinks, while also increasing our support for our off-trade partners and enhancing our brand and digital capability.”

The company has already made big appointments across the board this year, hiring McFarland, Ali Pickering as chief marketing officer, David Rose as its regional director for Great Britain, and promoting John Soden to president of Americas.

The company recently added eight people to its team, bringing the total to nearly 50 employees. Beyond its workforce, the investment will also go towards building brand presence and customer engagement strategies.

Pickering added: “As a business we’ve quietly spent the last decade designing and innovating on brands, consumer experiences and bars for some of the biggest names in the industry globally – we’ve used that expertise and experience to create some truly wonderful brands and liquids.

“We’re committed to building awareness, trial and trust in our fantastic portfolio and this investment is focused on exactly that – particularly in our home markets, as well as focus markets like Australia and Singapore.”

Drinksology’s portfolio includes Japanese spirits brand Ukiyo, Irish whiskey Kirker Shamrock, Italian gin Ginato, and Irish gin Jawbox.