Viewpoint
Simon Marton, CEO STARWARD WHISKY
MELBOURNE’S POPULAR WHISKY BRAND, STARWARD IS APPLYING ITS HOME CITY’S REPUTABLE COOL AND EDGY ETHOS WITH INSPIRING AND EXCITING RESULTS. CEO, SIMON MARTON TALKS ABOUT HIS NEW ROLE AND THE FUTURE OF THIS INNOVATIVE LOCAL AUSTRALIAN URBAN SPIRIT. Words Melissa Parker Congratulations on your role as CEO of Starward, now you are on board what is Starward’s projected position is in 5 and 10 years time? The vision is to become one of the world’s most famous whisky brands. We want to be a pioneer of whisky internationally and grow a brand that is strong, that consumers love and is part of their repertoire. A big part of that vision is to focus on the US as a primary market and Australia as our home market. We
14 drinks trade
want to make quality Australian whisky that is unique in the world of whisky and stand out from the pack by being different. What is your view on distilling in Australia and the local distilling industry in general? It reminds me of where the Australian wine industry was 20 or 30 years ago. There are so many of the same challenges, opportunities and similarities such as the
way the industry is working collaboratively together. We are on the up and up. You cant underestimate the perception of quality of Australian food and drink around the world. In Australia we can do things the way we want to and we don’t have to conform to everyone else’s rules. I think there is a massive passion in the (local spirits) industry like the wine industry. The world discovered Australian wine and the world is discovering Australian spirits.
