Taste of purity Stock Polska

TASTE OF PURITY

Stock Polska is Poland’s leading producer of clear vodka and vodka-based liqueurs. The company is an important part of the Stock Spirits Group, a leading spirits business in central and eastern Europe. Dariusz Balcerzyk reports.

Stock Polska is proud of the fact that its products are a combination of its tradition reaching back to 1884, innovative ideas and cutting-edge manufacturing facilities. Retaining the harmony between tradition and innovation has resulted in the development of market leading spirit brands.

A company with a long tradition

The roots of Polmos Lublin, (known today as Stock Polska), go back to the first half of the 20th century. At the time it was the famous manufacturer Emil Plage who was the heart of the company and who began the production of distilled spirits. Thanks to the dedication of his successors, the company survived both world wars and, as a result, resumed production in 1944. However, during the Communist

regime the nationalisation of private manufacturers went ahead and the company was seized in 1951 by the National Alcohol Monopoly.

Much later came political changes in Poland, resulting in a process of gradual change for the status of the company. It was first restructured as a joint-stock company with shareholding held by the State, before being privatised. Following these changes, the company survived and indeed thrived, becoming the leading manufacturer in the speciality vodka market and one of the most important players in the branded drinks market. Since 2007 Stock Polska has been a part of the Stock Spirits Group. European player

The history of the Stock Spirits Group dates back to 1884 and many of its products are made to long-established traditional recipes. The group’s principal geographic markets are Poland, the Czech Republic and Italy. Together, these three markets accounted for 88 per cent of the group’s net sales revenue in FY 2015. It has the largest market share for spirits in the Czech Republic and the second largest in Poland.

The group has a portfolio of more than 40 brands across a broad range of products including vodka, vodka-based flavoured liqueurs, rum, brandy, bitters and limoncello. It operates from two main

production and bottling sites in Lublin, Poland and in Plzen, Czech Republic. It also owns a small distillery in Prádlo, Czech Republic, and has an ethanol distillery plant in Rostock, Germany.

Clear and flavoured vodkas

Stock Polska is well known for its vodka-based flavoured liqueurs, including Zoladkowa Gorzka and the Lubelska range, as well as for its wide portfolio of clear vodkas, such as: Zoladkowa de Luxe, Stock Prestige, Amundsen Expedition, Orkisz, Zubr and 1906.

Zoladkowa Gorzka (which means ‘Stomach Bitter’) is manufactured according to a recipe which goes back to the 19th century and draws from the Polish tradition of infusions of herbs steeped in alcohol (so-called ‘nalewkas’). It stands out thanks to its distinctive amber colour, spicy aroma and complex flavour which, contrary to what the name may suggest, is surprisingly sweet with just a hint of bitterness and an original herbal note.

Zoladkowa de Luxe was, according to AC Nielsen data for 2014, the best-selling clear vodka in Poland and the fastest growing vodka brand in the world in 2009. It has received many prestigious international awards for its flavour, with its most recent accolade being a silver award at the International Spirits Challenge 2015.

Recently, Stock Polska extended its top premium product range with the Amundsen Expedition, created to honour one of the greatest expeditions of the 20th century that saw a team of explorers reaching the South Pole in 1911. Presented in a stylish, unique ice brick bottle design and served chilled at 0°Celsius, this top premium clear vodka offers a unique, delicate flavour created from a combination of special ingredients, crystal clear water and a slow rectification process. Stock Polska also introduced to the Polish market a new brand, Saska, with five flavours: two pure vodkas, including Oak Saska, and alcohol flavoured Black Elderberry, Wild Rose and Hungarian Plum.

Service tailored to customers

Stock Polska’s net sales revenue in 2015 was estimated at €137.2 million. Its production plant located in Lublin is the most modern facility of its kind in this part of Europe, with daily production output

estimated at 2.2 million bottles. The company’s products are sold in more than 40 markets, including the countries of central Europe, the Balkans, as well as Asia and the United States.

Stock Polska recently carried out two large investments in Lublin. Last year it opened a new logistics centre covering an area of 33,500 square metres, which has revolutionised its supply chain. Based on the latest logistics processes for managing the flow of products from production to delivery, it represents another step in the realisation of the company’s development vision. Interestingly, increasing storage capacity plays a secondary role in this vision: The main aim is the integration of the production planning and logistics processes, which in turn makes the company more flexible and efficient for its business partners, while maintaining the highest level of service tailored to the needs of its customers. n

http://www.stockspirits.com/