Ian Macleod to boost GTR sales with pricing scrutiny and NPDs
Ian Macleod Distillers has tweaked the pricing of its whiskies to encourage trial in global travel retail and is reassessing how gin liqueurs can turn traveller’s heads. db reports.
The Scottish company, which owns a portfolio of spirits brands including Glengoyne, Tamdhu, Smokehead, Edinburgh Gin, Rosebank, Langs Rum, and Pig’s Nose, focuses on premium Scotch whisky, gin, and rum, but is also now independently bottling brands under banners like Chieftain’s and Dun Bheagan.
Speaking to the drinks business, Ian Macleod senior business development manager travel retail Mark Robinson said: “We’ve reappraised all of our range in both domestic and in travel retail and have started to try to get some nice sweet spots in terms of pricing, to encourage people to try our brands.”
But what does that mean? According to Robinson, the channel has a lot of prestige, but pricing needs to remain as a lure to attract attention, even with age statement whiskies.
Robinson explained: “In particular, that means that we’ve changed some of our pricing to reflect this.”
Looking at where the line-up showed the most promise, Robinson indicated that its “key airports in the UK” and named “Heathrow”, but also hinted that “Edinburgh is our heartland”. With this in mind, Robinson admitted that the portfolio would also concentrate on Scottish airport locations too as a priority.
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Looking at the Edinburgh Gin brand, he added: “I think the big excitement with gin is that we’ve launched, for the first time, a travel retail exclusive range of gin liqueurs”.
Robinson pointed out that the company’s Edinburgh Gin began with gin liqueurs which were the foundation of the brand when it first launched in 2010, quickly becoming “the number one gin liqueur brand in the world”. Now, its initial proposition has spun off “a travel retail exclusive range”.
Robinson told db: “We call it the elevated editions, so ‘elevated’ in terms of ABV – 22% ABV rather than 20% ABV domestically, but also it’s elevated and packed full of flavour.”
The new Elevated Editions range includes three liqueurs, based on the brand’s flagship bestselling domestic range of flavours: Rhubarb and Ginger, Raspberry and Blood Orange and Ginger. Each of the new liqueurs will become available in travel retail priced at around £12 each.
To complement the gin liqueurs and showcasing the business’s best serves for all of its spirits, Robinson revealed that the company is “also concentrating on the spritz serve for travel retail”.
In the UK, spritz serves made up 45% of cocktail volume, up 12% compared to last year according to a recent report. The serve, which has gone from strength-to-strength of late with the appeal being in both their versatility as well as offering an ideal canvas for no- and low-alcohol options, hitting two trends in one.
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