Beveland SA has almost 30 years’ experience distilling premium spirits and liqueurs. Marketing Manager Jordi Sahis described the current range and the latest projects at Beveland. A report by Phil Nicholls.
Spanish distiller Beveland SA is steadily building up its portfolio of brands available in the US market. Recent successful launches include spicy gin, rum and brandy, all re-imagined for North America.
“We adapted our packaging by creating new SKUs that match with the big consumption trends in the US,” explained Marketing Manager Jordi Sahis. “The creativity of these new versions matches our premium spirits perfectly; thanks to the added value the new branding generates.”
Beveland is part of the family-owned Masoliver Group established in the 1970s, a Spanish market-leader for luxury food and drinks. Beveland SA was formed in 1994 as a dedicated producer and exporter of liqueurs and spirits. In 2009 Beveland expanded production to the Dominican Republic where it began distilling rum. This passion for rum continued at Beveland with imports from Venezuela, Cuba, Fiji and Indonesia. Beveland expanded its portfolio into brandy in 2016 by becoming co-owners of Bodegas Suau, a traditional Majorcan winery that has been producing brandy since 1851.
Based in Catalonia in northeast Spain, Beveland exports over 50 brands of spirit and liqueur to more than 70 countries. The production facility has three bottling lines with a total capacity of 70,000 bottles a day. Up to three million litres can be stored in tanks on site, along with 300,000 litres being aged in casks.
The diverse output of Beveland is available in eight categories of spirit and liqueur. Jordi Sahis highlighted the success of
Beveland’s rum range: “Our success with the Relicario rum bran d lies in our capabilities in the Dominican Republic cellar and the talent of the entire team. Authenticity, devotion to the requirements of high-quality rum and the creativity of our technical team are the main reasons why the Relicario brand gains more support every year.”
Gin craft
Beveland President Joel Masoliver Olivas explained in a previous interview with Inside Food & Drink magazine how the modern surge of popularity in craft gin originated locally: “It was mainly here in Spain that the gin boom really started. Spain has always had a significant consumption of gin more than vodka, and we have a lot of local producers.”
The centrepiece for Beveland’s popular gin range is the Jodhpur brand, available as London Dry Gin distilled with 13 botanicals most of them imported from India. This range is inspired by the city of Jodhpur, known as the Blue City, situate d in the state of Rajasthan in north-western India. As a nod to Jodhpur’s location on the famous Spice Route, Beveland also make Jodhpur Spicy gin created with a smooth warm taste thanks to the maceration of its Indian chilli and pepper content. Finally, there is the Jodhpur Mandore gin, blended with a mac eration of Indian citrus fruits such as bitter orange, Buddha’s hand and calamansi.
“Jodhpur is growing thanks to remaining true to the essence of the brand,” explained Jordi Sahis. “The entire range is designed to showcase the spices, fruits and flowers of India, allowing the consumer to be transported by these aromas to wildest India.”
The Beveland whisky range includes four varieties of Glen Silver’s blended whisky imported from Scotland, with premium brands blended for eight and 12 years. Beveland has five brands of vodka, and the brandy range features five types of Suau Brandy aged up to 50 years. The extensive BVLand range of 32 different liqueurs are marketed in distinctive long-necked bottles to ease their use when bartenders mix cocktails for their signature cocktail creations. Other lines from Beveland include tequila and mezcal, several agave spirits and a range of speciality products including absinthe, schnapps and many more.
To America and beyond
With such an extensive range of spirits and liqueurs available, Beveland is eager to expand into the US market. Jordi Sahis note d two brands leading Beveland’s push into the new market: “Our Jodhpur Spicy is the first spicy gin on the market, suitable for a very specific consumer who looks for new experiences. The Beveland Relicario Vermouth finish is also popular. Developed from the Relicario Superior, this rum is aged for another six months in Italian Mancino Vecchio Vermouth barrels to give it a unique aroma.”
Jordi Sahis conceded that the spirit and liqueurs segment is a very active market : “It is a very dynamic category with a lot of competition,” he said. “This forces Beveland to be faithful to our style and constantly seek perfection throughout the process.”
Joel Masoliver’s understanding of the market remains true today: “The spirits market is very competitive, with multinational players against whom it is quite difficult to compete. As a relatively small, family business, o ur strategy is to find gaps in the market, then make quality products that are different and drinks that are very special.”
Beveland is alive to the challenges of a competitive market and maintains a research and development laboratory to drive innovation, however: R&D is only one tool in Beveland’s commitment to adapting to the ever-changing market.
“Thanks to the advice of analysts from compa -
nies such as GlobalData, IWSR, Nielsen and Euromonitor,” explained Jordi Sahis, “we work hard to detect the opportunities in each market and adapt our portfolio to serve the consumer with a satisfying product.”
Brand growth
To evolve and grow in such a competitive market, Beveland relies upon a close and productive relationship with its suppliers.
“We prioritise a personalised service,” Jordi Sahis said, “To ensure that they understand our business model. The key to gaining loyalty within the supply chain is for everyone to feel that every project belongs to all the participants.”
According to Jordi Sahis, Beveland’s strong relationships with suppliers and clients depends upon: “Trust, respect and personalised treatment. The effort of each and every department of a supplier has an impact on the result of the product or service contracted.”
Joel Masoliver outlined the company’s on-going vision for future product development: “What we are focusing on is to establish a clear and distinctive story and motif; why a brand is created, why we are using key ingredients, which parts of the world we are in. We strive always to be the best, creating drinks of high quality that are very special in the market. To constantly improve is our mission.”
With a solid presence in the US market, Jordi Sahis is enthusiastic for the future prospects of Beveland: “Seeing brands grow as i f they were my own children gives me the greatest satisfaction.”
