What is the future for the distillery industry?

Julien Delavoie, NO. 8 DISTILLERY

“I hope for quality and consistency first. We have proven over the past three years that we can lead the international spirits competition. But New Zealand is still a new and young player in the international market. The community and the New Zealand Distillers Association (DSA) remains a small community that helps each other, and it's amazing. But building a solid foundation, and having a good lobby to represent us here and overseas, would be the key to playing for the long term. In addition, technology invested in a distillery itself will shape the future. Everyone is striving to be carbon-free, sustainable, and have the lowest CO2 footprint possible. Sourcing ingredients and packaging locally is now a goal for many of us, and it is also used as a selling point.”

Luke Jones, HONEST

“Distilleries are committed to reducing their environmental impact by utilising more renewable energy and creating less waste. At the same time, they are experimenting with new ingredients to create interesting flavour combinations. Distilleries have even been able to increase control over the taste and texture of their products through advancements in distillation equipment.”

Justine Schroder, MT. FYFE DISTILLERY

“We are a small country with a lot of distilleries in it per capita. We need to be mindful and clever in what direction this takes us. What is exciting is that every distillery is bringing something exciting to the industry, be it in the botanics they use, how they distil and how they make their cuts. The choice of botanics and native botanics available for us to create blends with is incredible and this makes the future of our gin industry very strong. Belonging to the Distilled Spirits Aotearoa organisation gives this fast-evolving industry a strong collective voice. Regulation and sustainability not just in New Zealand but on the world stage of spirit making is vital and one that is key to the DSA.”

Matt Bridge, LUNATIC AND LOVER

“Looking at the craft scale side of things here in New Zealand it's a tremendously exciting time, there's a huge amount of new players and exciting products coming online. I do think that this explosive growth will plateau fairly soon and we'll start to see some rationalisation as start-ups find it harder to get a foothold in a saturated market. Ultimately though, I think this will benefit the consumer as those with a focus on high-quality products and a solid brand will be the cream that rises to the top and ultimately offers a more consistently excellent experience.”

Chris Barber, THE BOND STORE

“For the local industry, it will be tough for the next few months. The combination of increases in excise tax (which is a real killer given how high it already is,) inflation increasing the cost of just about everything and a slowdown in consumer spending means it's going to be a real challenge. Innovation will come from packaging design and business processes (I reckon) rather than the products themselves.”

Paul Schneider, COROMANDEL DISTILLING CO.

“I have the impression that small brands will continue to do well as long as being coupled with high quality both in and outside the bottle and are supported by marketing. Technological innovations may lead to new and exciting products but these are probably only going to be successful if they are truly superior. In terms of flavours, I must admit that I am a fan of classic high-quality spirits. Peanut butter-flavoured whiskeys and watermelonflavoured gins and vodkas don't do it for me. The greatest need for technological innovations is with regard to our impact on the environment. I think that there is both a need and an appetite for becoming more environmentally responsible.”

Alex Kirkchuk, PUHOI ORGANIC DISTILLERY

“Puhoi Organic Distillery’s innovative contribution to the present and future of the distillery industry, apart from the production of the top quality spirits, is the creation of unique adaptogenic Dietary Supplements based on formulations of our in-house Doctor-Formulator Iryna Kirichuk (MD). ‘Dr Kirichuk’s Herbal Bitter G&T Drops’ is a unique healthy substitute of Gin for the classic Gin & Tonic cocktail.”