The Scotch whisky industry could ramp up growth significantly in key export markets as it supports efforts to increase the strength of brand Scotland overseas a leading sector figure has said.
Glen Gribbon, who took charge at the Bladnoch distillery after leading the global marketing push for The Macallan single malt, said: “The long-term prospects for Scotch are incredibly exciting.”
Mr Gribbon highlighted the potential to build on already impressive rates of growth for Scotch exports in the vast markets of China and India.
Rapid economic development is likely to support the trend which has seen demand for Scotch increase rapidly in both countries. Mr Gribbon said the long-term outlook for the China market was very bright, especially for high value premium products.
India has become the biggest market for exports in terms of volumes even though heavy import duties are imposed on the spirit. Mr Gribbon noted the Scotch Whisky Association has mounted a campaign to get the duty cut, which could have a major impact if it is successful.
“India could move from being a very big market for Scotch to being a very big market for premium and single malts,” observed Mr Gribbon.
He was speaking after underlining the value of Scotch in a presentation at the Advertising Association’s LEAD conference in Edinburgh.
READ MORE: Former PM tells conference: I'm seeing poverty I thought I would never see again
Mr Gribbon noted that Scotch played an important role in attracting affluent visitors to Scotland from around the world.
The investment that owners of brands such as The Macallan and Johnnie Walker have made in the quality of their spirits and in their branding has helped build the reputation of Scottish products overseas.
Mr Gribbon noted the potential for producers of other goods such as jewellery to capitalise on that success. He raised the prospect that Scotland could develop a reputation as a supplier of luxuries to rival those of countries such as France and Italy.
Mr Gribbon also underlined the economic importance of the whisky industry, which supports around 40,000 jobs, and the contribution it makes to the wellbeing of rural and remote communities in which many distilleries are based.
READ MORE: Scottish knitwear success story creates jobs amid surge in sales
The Bladnoch distillery is near Wigtown in south-west Scotland. Mr Gribbon also chairs the Moray-based Cabrach distillery, which says it aims to breathe new life into one of the UK’s most rural communities.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here