Bring a new alcoholic drink to Irish market?

Marx

I've just returned from a few weeks holiday in Portugal, and while over there, I sampled an amazing drink (spirit based), that I think would sell really well over here.

The drink manufacturer is Portuguese, and from finding their website, doesn't seem to have a huge distribution network, and is a pretty new brand.

I'd like to become a distributor for their brand over here.

Obviously I realise that this won't be a simple process, so i'm wondering if anyone here has any info on how to approach such a thing, or even better has any direct experience in it.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

soddy1979

Couple of things you need to look at.

Firstly - who owns the drink. If it's a local brewery not affiliated to the likes of Diageo, Inbev, etc., you will need to buy the rights to sell this drink here.

Secondly - buy a few bottles of it, do some testing and see if people actually like it. If they do, document your research and start getting distribution channels. Although if you buy the distribution rights I'm sure they will give you a few bottles for free. Remember that just because you like it doesn't mean others will.

Thirdly - cost it. New brand, no reputation. You need to market it correctly and price it in a way that corresponds to how you have marketed it. You have to have sufficient margin or the idea is defunct.

Lastly - Don't stop at Ireland. If you can do it in the UK go for it. The UK has 15 times more people than Ireland, and with drinks, more people = more revenue.

Best of luck.

YellowSheep

Make yourself knowledgable in this field, as you need a good bonded warehouse. Why? Because if you bring in a container load of your product you store it in a bonded warehouse and only pay duty, VAT and taxes as you sell it. If you would store the container in your house you would have to pay duty etc upfront. Plus a bonded warehouse is a high security area.

Just a thought. Good Luck. Cheers Oliver

r0nanf

Good advice from Soddy re testing potential market.

Spirits are a difficult market in Ireland however, you have to take into account the exorbitant excise rates (there are none in Portugal, we have the second highest in EU) and the shipping/storage/markup combination which may combine to make what was a cheap/fun product an expensive/niche one here.

Excise is €39.25 per litre of alcohol inc VAT. Also we do not have a large cocktail scene, which would be the obvious initial market for a flavoured spirit (presuming that's what this is). However the most unexpected things have taken off over the years so I wouldn't necessarily let that stop you. Find the rates here - you want PN1886, and PN1877 will give you some info on duty suspension.

Make sure you contact revenue's excise dept, talk to someone about how to calculate exactly the excise. Unless you have space in a bonded facility you will have to pay all of the excise upfront when the bottles land in Dublin too. You don't want to get stung having to pay the excise on 600 bottles upfront...

Re UK I would be very careful - aside from having a different tax/excise system the operators over there are of a different makeup altogether. Bigger players, more ruthless, and more aggressive. Potentially if you got the rights you could try to sign with a distributor on a supplier/agent deal?

Go to a cocktail making competition - talk to some of the entrants, get their opinion. These are the guys who can tell you if it could have legs as a product.

JohnThomas09

r0nanf wrote: »

Excise is €39.25 per litre of alcohol inc VAT

how could excise be €39.25 per litre of alcohol inc VAT?surely if that was the case we'd be charged this rate to buy a pint?

r0nanf

Excise is €39.35 per litre of alcohol - I'm talking specifically about excise on spirits. Beer has a different calculation for excise, as does wine. That's why I put in a link to the different rates in my previous post.

So a 70cl bottle of Jameson at 40% abv has €10.99 excise inc VAT. Divide the excise amount by the percentage abv and then adjust to the size of the bottle.

DubTony

Lots of good advice here. Now all you need is a few hundred thousand euros and a snazzy tv campaign, a few poster ads, and a couple of dozen gorgeous 18 to 22 year old giving the stuff away to pub-goers across the country. Best of luck.

Marx

Thanks for all the replies guys, it's been very helpful.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.