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Joao Rozario: ‘we want to lead ultra-premium Irish whiskey’
“We want to lead ultra-premium Irish whiskey growth around the world,” says Joao Rozario, international marketing director for Irish Distillers, in his first interview since taking up the role.
It has been just over a year since Joao Rozario took up the post of international marketing director for Irish Distillers, the Irish whiskey arm of Pernod Ricard. His path into the marketing world was no accident – in fact, you could say it’s in his blood. Born in Brazil to a family of marketeers, “there was no way to escape from marketing”, he quips.
He nearly, however, broke from family tradition to play football professionally, he very modestly drops into conversation. “I played since I was 12 years old. When I was 17, I was invited to go to England to play football in Cambridge for a year and a half,” Rozario recalls. “Then I went back to Brazil to be a trainee at Unilever as an intern.” Torn between marketing and football, he pursued football one last time and landed a spot at Melville United in New Zealand.
“I spent a few months in New Zealand, then I went to Australia and spent seven months playing there, and then I gave up and went back to Brazil,” he says. “But it was such an interesting time, as when I was 17 and went to play in England, that was the first time I left Brazil. And that was important because it gave me an idea of the wider world, and made me want to experience it more. And I think that’s something that I really carry with me even today.”
From Unilever, Rozario joined Pernod Ricard in 2008, working across premium brands including Absolut Vodka. “The idea of moving from soaps and detergents and the world of fabric cleaning was very exciting,” he jokes further. “But in all seriousness, it was a very interesting move for me because there were a lot of differences between the two worlds and I had to adapt very quickly.”
Sixteen years on, and Rozario is still captured by the spirits industry, and the Pernod Ricard company. His tenure has taken him all over the world, and he’s enjoyed calling London, Sweden, New York and Italy ‘home’ in the past. He moved from Milan to Ireland a year ago after accepting the role and today, he is based in the Republic of Ireland in Dún Laoghaire.
Jameson Irish whiskey was a huge draw towards the position, he explains. “There were a few reasons why the role appealed to me. One was Jameson being an iconic global brand. It’s a trigger for conversations, connections between people – and it’s a growing brand. This is a brand that is still, let’s say, in its beginning of globalisation.” After selling 10.2 million nine-litre cases in 2023, according to The Brand Champions 2024, the brand is still the biggest-selling Irish whiskey. For context, its closest competitor, Tullamore Dew, sold 1.6m cases in the same year.
How will Irish Distillers grow its brands globally?
What is the secret to Jameson’s success? For Rozario, it’s three-fold. “One, it’s a brand built on quality and tradition,” he notes. “This is something not every brand can say it has, but we have the heritage and the history.”
Second, he highlights innovation. But not just in terms of product development, but activities and marketing initiatives, too. Third, “it’s a brand that engages with consumers.”
Rozario explains further: “This is what we need to continue going forward. Jameson is a brand truly rooted in culture, and that culture, of course, comes from Ireland, but we also take it into local markets. It is a brand that is not superficial. It’s very deep in consumers’ culture, and this last part, I would say, is something which we can never ignore.”
As living costs continue to spiral, and word on the street is consumers are, understandably, looking for added value with their spending, Rozario is confident Jameson’s long-running strategy means it will remain in favour with drinkers.
“It’s much more difficult when you need to find your cultural platform to create something experiential for consumers,” Rozario says. “Jameson already has it. Jameson has authentic cultural roots, which come from its homeland in Ireland, and that it has long brought to life in different markets around the world.”
When it comes to the prestige part of the portfolio, however, it’s a different story – and strategy, as Rozario explains. “With Jameson, it is about globalising a brand that is already reaching different corners of the world,” Rozario says. “With our prestige brands,” the likes of Redbreast and Midleton, “it is about leading that ultra-premium Irish whiskey growth. And here, the challenges are very different.”
Creating more awareness of these brands is one of the key objectives, he says.
“The USA is an important market for us but we are also seeing the brands starting to pick up much further across Europe and Asia as well. Ultra-premium is growing faster than premium whiskey and it will keep growing. It’s expected to grow faster for the next five years, so it’s all about driving that growth. We want to be in that driving seat.”
Premiumisation a ‘longer-term trend’
I ask Rozario if Irish Distillers will need to adapt its strategy in light of the cost-of-living situation – and the indicators that premiumisation is slowing. However, he assures me that the company is on the right path and remains confident in its premium approach.
“A personal view from me: history shows that premiumisation is a longer-term trend even in the face of short-term economic issues. It is a global trend. In the past 12 years, Jameson has tripled its size. Prestige is no different in its potential to grow. We fully intend to continue leading premiumisation with Jameson and our prestige portfolio.”
Rozario’s international experience will be used to maximum effect to ensure the continued success of Irish Distillers’ portfolio, and to pursue its global ambitions. He aims to be at the forefront of creativity in his role, not just “someone to manage the business”.
“I am very ambitious, and I want to bring that edgy creativity that can help build on the quality and tradition of our brands – and also stretch them,” he says.
“If you look at 2022 numbers [from Drinks Ireland], all Irish whiskey exports soared past €1 billion (US$1.1bn) of net sales. When you look at the overall Irish category, 95% of Irish whiskey is being sold outside of Ireland. You can see that globalisation has already started. And when you look at how we are growing markets like Asia and Europe, it shows there is still a lot of room to grow.”
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