Brockmans expands in GTR and launches gin cut with agave spirit

Brockmans Gin has disclosed details of its big moves across global travel retail as well as a new product that was inspired by NYC bartender recipes.

Speaking at an event hosted at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes, Brockman’s Gin’s CEO Guy Lawrence said: “Things are going really well, we’re doing about a million bottles around the world. We are in 50 or so different markets now, which is great. This year has been good, although it has been harder for many brands, for us we have a very strong team and have been able to deliver some great results including a new innovation which we launched in the summer called Brockman’s Orange Kiss and another one we are unveiling.”

Giving a little background to the expansion, Brockman Gin’s international vice president Pierpaolo Indelicato said: “We launched 15 years ago and we are an independent brand with a small team, but we are very committed. The UK is one of our core markets, then Spain and Italy. For all of these markets in their domestic markets we have been in the top two or three gins in terms of market share. We are also expanding in the US and Canada and we are getting traction in Ontario, British Columbia and we have just done an agreement to expand more into South America.”

Indelicato explained; “Our focus for next year is going to be Asia and we already have some presence in a few Asian markets but as we expand to more than 60 markets, it is important to use to replicate our success in duty free. After Covid, we had an opportunity to create a partnership with JP (drinks industry consultant Jean-Philippe Aucher). Effectively, we started this journey 15 months ago.”

Drinks industry veteran Jean-Philippe Aucher, who is currently representing Brockmans via his consultancy JP Global Travel Retail, added: “I’m really excited to carry on growing the brand abroad. Our business is all about premiumisation and this is something that is going on and Brockmans is not only premium, but it is different in terms of taste and its packaging design and so when they told me they were selling a million bottles and were the number three brand in the UK and all across Europe and yet nowhere in travel retail, I didn’t say ‘wow, that’s going to be easy’ but I did say ‘there is something we can do’.”

Speaking about how he was approached, Aucher revealed: “I started last year in April and some key achievements that have happened in the meantime are that we are now listed with Heinemann. We all know the strength of Heinemann as a key travel retailer and distributor and it has now listed Brockmans in litre size and it is doing really well. We are also doing some brand activation because it is not all about just being on the shelf as we know but often about tasting and offering the brand to travellers. We started some activation in Dusseldorf, but we have also done some further activation in Frankfurt with tastings and to raise visibility as well as tastings in Berlin in August and September.”

Aucher added: “Besides Heinemann, and outside of Europe as well, we have had a deal with Premium Brand Group (PBG) in Panama in its domestic markets in the region, but also in travel retail so we are really developing the brand further in other parts of the world. We also began working with London Supply and there is more to explore in that part of the world too, especially in the Caribbean.”

He admitted: “Brockmans is also a key brand in Spain and we are working with companies there and hopefully we will soon be back on shelves with Dufry. We have also had some great results in Northern Europe where there are some duty free distributors and retailers covering shops. All in all I am very excited and even more excited because there is also innovation.”

Moving onto its new product launch, Lawrence explained that the new spirits launch for Brockmans is named “Brockman’s Agave Cut” and revealed: “What we have done is we have taken Brockmans Gin and cut it with agave spirit and then added a little hint of pink grapefruit.”

Lawrence concluded “What we are doing, really, is tapping into Brockmans classic English gin with the fiery passion of Mexico’s agave spirit with the pink grapefruit to help it along. The inspiration came from New York where bartenders were cutting gin cocktails with agave spirits and we thought it was really interesting and unique and fitted into the Brockmans’ ethos which is about doing things a little bit differently. We have always called ourselves the proper improper gin.”

According to Lawrence, “Brockmans Agave Gin is produced in small batches in limited edition numbered bottles and we are launching it in Cannes because it will be duty free, but it will end up being broader than that but we are starting it here and it comes in a gift carton as well and will be priced at approximately £46 per bottle.”