INDUSTRY NEWS

ALL THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS

It has been an interesting time for the beverage industry as many brands have come to the table with exciting developments. We’ve collected the highlights from the industry over the past few months to bring you what’s hot and happening in your world.

AMARULA SKILLS TRAINING

Amarula 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 AFTER A RECORD FESTIVE SEASON IN SA

South 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. 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.

Christelle Reade-Jahn, director of the SA Brandy Foundation.

MCCAIN SLAP CHIPS, A PROUD WINNER AT THE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR AWARDS

McCain Foods South Africa has been delighting South Africans over the past year with the traditional taste and local feel of McCain Slap Chips. The love for this product has been echoed in the recent Product of the Year Award win for McCain Slap Chips in the Best Meal Side Category. Product of the Year is a consumer voted award, which is backed by the votes of 5 000 consumers.

“We are delighted that McCain Slap Chips have been recognised for their delicious traditional taste and highlighted as a consumer favourite. We hope that consumers continue to share special moments with each other while enjoying our delicious traditional McCain Slap Chips at home,” says Deolinda Da Costa, Marketing Manager for McCain Foods South Africa.

INDUSTRY SEES DIFFERENTIAL EXCISE BRANDY TARIFF AS A POSITIVE STEP

The South African brandy industry has welcomed the government’s decision to introduce a differential excise tariff for pot still and vintage brandy. This excise tariff will be phased in over the next two years, which will see a 10% lowering of differential rates to the spirits excise tariff. SA Brandy Foundation director, Christelle Reade-Jahn, says the change was definitely a step in the right direction. “It will help to pre-minimise the category and also provide the impetus for building brandy exports,” she said. The government’s decision was to follow input from inside the brandy industry, which was also open to public participation, so a lot of consideration and time went into finalising the decision. South Africa is the world’s seventh largest producer of brandy and its focus has been primarily on the domestic market. However, demand has been steadily contracting in recent years. Since 2006, when the brandy tax rebate was withdrawn, annual consumption dropped by 18.5-million litres, to reach 30.2-million litres for the 12 months to June 2015.

It takes five litres of wine to produce one litre of brandy, a fact which has naturally got its share of implications for the economy and job opportunities in the local wine industry. The department of agricultural economics at Stellenbosch University estimates that between 2006 and 2013, brandy decline resulted in a loss of R1.56-billion and saw 7 526 job opportunities lost.

THE UNION BAR AND BLACK BOTTLE SCOTCH WHISKY JOIN FORCES

Here-today-gone-tomorrow entertainment master, the Union Bar, is joining forces with none other than Black Bottle blended Scotch whisky to offer the who’s who of Jozi an experience of a lifetime. The promotion, which started on 11 March 2016 will run a world-class pop-up production for 13 weeks. But, this is not just any old bar, the Union Bar is designed to scream luxury and opulence as soon as you walk through the doors. Emphasis is placed on sophistication and style with attention to detail on everything from the décor to the drinks. The production aims to boast golden girls dancing in gilded cages and black and gold splendour that will dazzle even the toughest customer. There is more to the event than just a really long party, though: the focus is on everything from speciality cocktails to showcasing South Africa’s finest musical talent. All to celebrate the gorgeous new bottle that contains the Black Bottle blended Scotch whisky. The Union Bar with Black Bottle blended Scotch whisky was open to the public on Thursday to Saturday nights, 6:30pm to late, from 11 March 2016 to 11 June 2016. It was hosted at the newly converted Norman Goodfellows Dispatch Warehouse, on the corner of Chaplin and Oxford roads in Illovo, Johannesburg. Black Bottle whisky is enjoyed around the world by those with the confidence to look beyond the everyday.

LISMORE WINES IN THE SPOTLIGHT INTERNATIONALLY

Lismore Estate wines from Greyton, South Africa, have achieved considerable success internationally in recent reports and commendations from Neal Martin in Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, Decanter magazine and from Jancis Robinson of the Financial Times. Samantha O’Keefe’s “fabulous” 2014 Syrah is the only SA red to achieve ‘Top 50’ status in Robert Parker’s Top 50 Picks of 2015.

The team at Robert Parker Wine Advocate tasted 30 000 wines and chose 21 whites and 29 reds. Lisa Perrotti-Brown, editor-in-chief of Robert Parker Wine Advocate commented: “These were the most exciting new wine releases in 2015, based on absolute quality, singularity and hedonistic/intellectual appeal.” If that wasn’t enough, the 2013 Lismore Chardonnay scored 91 points, the 2014 Viognier scored 90 points, as did the 2014 Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc. Renowned wine critic and author, Jancis Robinson, in her Financial Times column “Asked a Sommelier!”, cited Lismore Estate’s 2011 Chardonnay as one of her “favourite off-piste wines.” And, just last week, the 2014 Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc featured as Decanter magazine’s “Must Try White” in tasting director Christelle Giber’s column. Samantha O’Keefe, winemaker, commented; “It’s wonderful, and a little humbling, to get recognition from people and publications like Jancis Robinson, Neal Martin and Decanter magazine. We continue to do our best to grow and harvest the best cool climate grapes we can, and to make wine which brings out the complexity and nuances that the soil and climate in Greyton allow.”