FDBusiness.com

Sales of Jameson Irish whiskey passed a record 8 million cases in the twelve months to December 2019 as the brand experienced strong value growth of 9% in the last six months of the year. Jameson also recently recorded the single largest sales month in its history.

Conor McQuaid, chairman and chief executive of Irish Distillers, says: “In 1996, we sold one million cases of Jameson for the first time, in 2010, we cracked three million and today we are celebrating the eight million case mark. In December 2019, Jameson recorded the single largest sales month ever, selling 940,000 cases. In the US, we sold two million cases of Jameson during a six-month period – another first. Jameson has been driving the growth of the Irish whiskey category for the past 30 years, and as these results show, it continues to thrive, and we are incredibly proud of this growth.”

Conor McQuaid, chairman and chief executive of Irish Distillers.

In the six months to the end of December 2019, Jameson grew value ahead of volume with all regions contributing to this success. Germany saw +34 percent growth, and Russia experienced +14 percent in the first half of the year, with impressive growth also experienced in Canada (+13%), South Africa (+12%) and the UK (+10%). Key emerging markets for Jameson experienced 37% growth, buoyed by markets like Nigeria (+185%), China (+76%) and India (+47%). Global travel retail also continues to thrive (+7%), in part due to the successful launch of Jameson Triple Triple in July 2019. Consumers continue to appreciate the super-premium range, as seen by the growth of Jameson Black Barrel (+26%).

“Growth isn’t just confined to Jameson, there has been strong growth across our portfolio of whiskeys in the first half of the year, including the single pot still category, led by Redbreast (+24%), with growth in the US (+27%), and the UK and France also performing well. The Spot range recorded growth of 6.2 percent. The category has quickly established itself as a drink of choice for refined drinkers and is now among the upper echelons of world whiskeys. Redbreast is still the most awarded single pot still whiskey in the world winning the Worldwide Whiskey Trophy for Redbreast 12-Year-Old Single Pot Still in 2019, and its high regard is reflected in these fantastic growth figures,” added Conor McQuaid.

“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, and the team in Midleton continue to push the boundaries. The Method and Madness range has experienced very strong year to date growth (+81%) with the UK (+57%) and Ireland (+55%) both performing well. The range has truly piqued the interest of spirits drinkers throughout the world, reflecting the increasing appetite for innovation in the category, and with the first liquid from our Micro Distillery having matured in 2019, this range will continue to grow in the years to come.

“Our brand homes in Bow Street in Dublin and Midleton in Cork continue to thrive, with visitor numbers reaching almost half a million in 2019. In December 2019, Jameson Distillery Bow St. was named the World’s Leading Distillery Tour at the World Travel Awards for the second year in a row.”