ProSpirits Report: ‘It’s about exports but also export diversification’
Professor Dr Simone Loose, head of the Institute for Wine and Beverage Business Research at Geisenheim University, shares the first insights into the 2026 ProSpirits Report.
Her initial findings were presented on the first day of ProWein 2026, when she was joined on a panel discussion by Paul Dempsey, sales and marketing director for Brave New Spirits, and Gernot Allnoch, partner of Mezcal San Cosme. Melita Kiely, editor-in-chief of The Spirits Business, moderated the talk.
Presenting an overview of the initial data analysis, Loose touched on some notable points from the responses of more than 100 industry professionals.
Loose said: “Opportunities are changing, the demand motives are changing. If the volume is declining, we have more competition and the channels are getting fuller and then there is more people trying to see the same thing.
“The second [point] is about route to market, where can I get my product sold, and who are my sales partners? It’s about partnership. So that’s the producer’s perspective.
“Then number three is about well, if I’m in a country that might decline, where are countries that are still growing? So it’s about exports but also about export diversification.”
Tying into the subject of diversification, the importance of innovation ranked highly as an important consideration for spirits companies – particularly during challenging economic times.
‘We’re all just trying to learn how to adapt’
As Dempsey and Allnoch joined the conversation, Dempsey highlighted what he’s been seeing in the Scotch whisky space recently.
“[Brave New Spirits] is a five-year-old company. I’ve watched the whisky industry change over the last few years. We are trying to find [new] ideas, but within a pretty tight structure – but it’s all being affected by multiple factors,” Dempsey noted.
“There are wars, there are product prices rising, courier companies are charging more, people have changed habits. The restaurants and bar circuit are not as busy as they used to be because people are drinking in a different way, and we’re all just trying to learn how to adapt to it but without ditching all the things that we thought we already knew.”
Allnoch noted that for Mezcal San Cosme, a company that has been around for 15 years, it had been able to find success despite global headwinds by approaching new markets and audiences.
Allnoch added: “We’re still learning how every country we go to has a different set of rules for how you work with liquid. We’re even seeing governments in all these different countries slowly starting to change because I think they recognise the need to evolve as well.
“You’re seeing the provinces in Canada now trying to trade between the provinces, which you never could do. We’re seeing the distribution tenders in Scandinavia changing and asking for alternative packaging, and for a lot of these places, these are still new markets for us.”
To hear more insights from the report, and the panellists views on the wider state of the global spirits industry, click the video below or head to The Spirits Business’ YouTube channel.
Yesterday, SB published the first talk from The Spirits Business Hub at ProWein, which explored how celebrity spirits brands are navigating market challenges, building authenticity and connecting with consumers and trade in a crowded category.
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