Interview, Part 2: Brendan Buckley of Irish Distillers
August 25, 2022
In the second part of our interview, Brendan Buckley, global marketing director for Pernod Ricard-owned Irish Distillers, discusses Jameson’s international expansion and prospects for further growth, as well as the influx of competition in the Irish whiskey market.
SND: Where have you seen the best growth in Jameson over the past year?
Buckley: We broke 10 million cases in March, ending just 10.5 million cases when our fiscal year ended in June: the US contribution to the total was 4.5 million cases. Starting from a high base, we are adding a lot of cases in the US, but we are seeing triple digit growth in some smaller markets, such as India and Nigeria, where we see excellent growth potential. This did not happen overnight as we have been investing in those markets for several years and are now starting to see the returns. I believe we will move 1 million cases in India by 2030.
SND: With Jameson on sale in more than 130 countries, which brands do you consider to be your main competitors and which markets will be your focus in the future?
Buckley: We would refer against brands like Johnnie Walker and Jack Daniel’s, but equally, Hennessy is also our competition. It’s not always other whiskeys. We always go into new markets with Jameson, our flagship brand, as it has the taste credentials and the accessibility. Asia is the next frontier, no doubt. Likewise, we haven’t hit Latin America yet, but we’ve been investing in Brazil for a while and it’s finally starting to show results. Our ambition is clear – we want to become a global brand and we are not yet global. You go to bars in Latin America and Asia and we’re not in bars.
SND: Two years ago, master distiller Brian Nation left Midleton Distillery, where Jameson is made, to join O’Shaughnessy Distillery Co. in Minneapolis, and most recently, former Bushmills master mixologist Helen Mulholland joined Sazerac and master blender Caroline Martin joined Illva Saronno. at Royal Oak Distillery following her retirement from Diageo. Given the proliferation of new Irish distilleries and brands, and investment in Ireland’s whiskey industry by major international spirits companies such as Diageo, Beam Suntory, Brown-Forman, Sazerac and Proximo Spirits, IDL is vulnerable to losing to their big names and rising stars. how do opportunities arise that were not available before?
Buckley: Yes, it is always a risk. It’s something we know, but by the same token, you can’t rule out the possibility of someone coming out and offering our master distiller Kevin O’Gorman a million to work for them. Likewise, I think we have a great culture at IDL. It is not just a place where you come to earn a living; there is a real culture, a family atmosphere and people always talk about the small family feeling here. I have been with the company for 20 years now, and there is no doubt, I am an anomaly within Pernod Ricard. There’s no one in my role for that long because they tend to rotate, so I like to think that’s part of why the brand has been successful. You have that continuity and consistency and culture and that’s so important to IDL.
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Tagged : Irish Distillers, Jameson, Pernod Ricard
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