Cambodia’s ‘first’ rum maker eyes expansion

Cambodia’s “first and only” rum producer Samai Distillery is lining up more than US$1 million worth of investor funding as it looks to expand its operations and production capacity.

Samai Distillery produces a range of handcrafted rums made with local ingredients

Daniel Pacheco, co-founder and director of Samai Distillery is in discussions with a group of investors to receive US$550,000 to US$700,000 in funding as well as business advice from the investors.

Pacheco told The Phnom Penh Post that he also intends to restructure the operation into subsidiaries and maintain the Samai name while operating an independent distillery.

“This will allow for us to distil products for other brands, and some companies have already reached out to us expressing interest in our distillery operations,” he explained.

He added: “We are also aiming to raise another US$600,000 from other individual investors to [expand] our business.”

The investment could also lead to the Phnom Penh-based distillery’s products marketed and exported abroad.

Pacheco will begin using the investment to increase the production capacity of the distillery, which would require obtaining more land and constructing a larger facility.

Opening in 2014, Samai Distillery produces a range of handcrafted rums made with local ingredients including Kampot Pepper Rum, Samai PX Limited edition and its flagship Samai Gold Rum.