Bruce Song: incorporating ‘gemba’ into Suntory brand building
Leading commercial excellence for Asia Pacific, Bruce Song dives into how consumer actions drive Suntory’s marketing endeavours.
For most industries, six months into a job is enough time to take stock and devise a game plan for how to get goals done. For Bruce Song, who passed the six month mark as Suntory Global Spirits’ vice president of commercial excellence for Asia Pacific (APAC) on 25 July, it was clear what he needed to do.
Based in South Korea, Song has a quarter of a century of commercial marketing and management experience. The last eight of those years have been spent working for Suntory Global Spirits, initially as managing director for Korea. Song most recent served as managing director of emerging markets, leading a team of 200 across Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
“I bring a strategic understanding of the region and a collaborative leadership style that will be instrumental in achieving our objectives, including enhancing consumer engagement and accelerating business growth across key markets,” Song said.
Suntory aims to become the “world’s most admired premium spirits company”, according to Song. It pursues its ambitions by “getting close to the consumer through ‘gemba’ — which loosely translates to ‘where the action is’ or ‘where things happen’. Our approach is to really understand what consumers are looking for, and bring those insights back to inform our brand building.”
Song’s commercial excellence arm aims to drive “great execution from seed to sip” on every level: on shelves, in menus and through service. It has recently expanded operations to get consumers closer to their preferred spirits.
“For example, in APAC, the launch of our ‘route-to-market’ in Singapore last year was our first in-market commercial business in southeast Asia,” said Song. “Its aim is to create new pathways to wholesalers, direct retailers and e-commerce in this key market.”
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In Australia, another critical market, Suntory has invested AU$3 billion (£1.45bn) into Suntory Oceania. To consolidate end-to-end manufacturing, sales and distribution of the group’s licenses and non-alcohol portfolios, the collaboration leverages a state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution facility in Ipswich, Queensland.
“APAC is a critical growth region and offers great opportunity for innovation — something we excel at,” Song said. “Favourable demographics and robust GDP growth across Southeast Asia also present growth opportunities. Asia’s status as a global tourism hub enhances the potential for our premium spirits to be included in meal occasions.”
He cited the return of Roku Gin’s Sakura bloom edition to Singapore and Malaysia earlier in 2025 as an example of emphasising cultural relevance and local connections to create excitement for the brand. The timing of the gin’s return capitalised upon Suntory’s research indicating consumer desire for novelty in the gin category.
Along with working with its local teams, Suntory Global Spirits is rolling out a structure to support data-driven decision making and cross-functional collaboration. “It is essential that we seek to leverage best practices and share insights across the region,” affirmed Song. At the same time, he said Suntory will continue to strive for “brands grounded in quality and authenticity. We need to be constantly innovating to meet the evolving needs of consumers.”
Strong momentum towards no and low and ready-to-drink (RTD) have yielded tweaks including Jim Beam RTD cans in grapefruit, lemon and ginger as well as its classic flavour in Korea. “While the highball trend originated in Japan, we adapted it to suit local Korean palates such as using tonic and ginger ale instead of soda for a sweeter taste,” Song explained. “Convenience is key, but it’s also about offering refreshing formats that resonate with locals, whether these are lighter and sweeter or richer, more complex profiles.
“Our approach is agile, feeding ‘gemba’ insights and observations into our strategy and decision-making processes for our business. Through these efforts, we are confident we will meet consumer needs and drive sustainable growth for both our customers and Suntory Global Spirits in the APAC region.”
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