INDUSTRY NEWS
S W E N Y R T S U D IN T S E ALL THE LAT
the brands have come to y an m as ry st du in ge the industry over the g time for the bevera m in fro st s re ht te lig in gh an hi en e th be s It ha llected velopments. We’ve co rld. table with exciting de happening in your wo d an t ho t’s ha w u yo ing past few months to br
ING AMARULA SKILLS TRAIN
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marula has initiated a skills training initiative designed to boost ecotourism in southern Africa while combating unemployment. This groundbreaking project has already exposed over 116 students to the exciting challenges of being a field guide. Supported by funding from the not-for-profit Amarula Trust, the initiative saw eight students undergoing the month-long training course at the Erindi Private Game Reserve and the Wilderness Safaris Damaraland Adventure Camp in Namibia. This is the fourth time Namibian candidates have benefited from this programme, which also extends the field guide training that Eco Training provides in association with the Field Guide Association of South Africa. Hardie Basson, marketing manager for Amarula’s parent company Distell in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, says the building of rural skills to support ecotourism was critical. “The growth in tourism means there is an increasing demand for qualified field guides to host mostly foreign guests. By facilitating the provision of skills, the Amarula Trust is also helping to tackle unemployment,” he says.
STRONG GROWTH REPORTS FROM DISTELL E AFTER A RECORD FESTIV SEASON IN SA
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outh Africa’s biggest producer of wines, spirits, ciders and ready-to-drink beverages, Distell Group, continues to reflect the benefits of an investment programme designed to enhance competition. The reason behind this push is so that the group can double its business by 2020 and so far, it is delivering impressive growth across the core beverage categories. This impressive growth is all thanks to record trading over the domestic festive season. Managing director of the Distell Group Richard Rushton reported a year-on-year growth of 11.2% in revenue over the six months leading up to December 2015. This comes on the back of a sales increase of 7.7%, while operating profit also rose by 16.5%, which clearly indicates that a weaker rand has not affected the beverage conglomerate at all.
Amarula training
Top volume performers continue to include cider brands such as Hunters and Savanna while the biggest-selling wine brand is now 4th Street. Scottish Leader whisky and Viceroy brandy continue to dominate the brandy resurgence in the local market. Old faithful, Sedgwick’s Old Brown Sherry, celebrating its centenary this year, also continues to make steady and impressive gains in the market, showing once again that tried and tested products are firm favourites in the public sector. www.spotongmag.co.za
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