20|Retail News|March 2020|www.retailnews.ie
Retail News Interview
Mark Aherne: “We are looking at how we can work closely with our industry partners and government to develop the infrastructure necessary to drive wide-scale behavioural and societal change.” edge materials, as well as sampling and targeted out-of-home advertising. Lucozade Sport will continue to remain the official hydration partner of the IRFU. This long-running partnership will be supported by the continuation of Lucozade Sport’s ‘Made To Move’ campaign across the country.
We are currently distributing iconic brands such as Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Courvoisier, Kilbeggan, Teacher’s, Roku Japanese Gin and Sipsmith, and hope to elevate the public’s awareness and familiarity of these brands through activations and marketing campaigns in the coming months.
It was recently announced that you are taking over distribution of Beam Suntory International’s alcohol brands in Ireland. What will this mean for the market here and for the brands themselves? We are delighted to have become the official distributor for Beam Suntory, a world leader in premium spirits, in the Republic of Ireland. The distribution agreement is the first of its kind between LRSI and Beam Suntory, both subsidiaries of The Suntory Group, one of the world's leading consumer products companies. The strategic partnership will further strengthen and expand the position of Beam Suntory’s premium spirits portfolio in the Irish market. Ireland is key for both LRSI and Beam Suntory, and we believe it is the perfect environment to roll out this exciting new distribution model.
What is in the pipeline for the premium alcohol brands? We have some very exciting developments in the pipeline and look forward to revealing all to our retail partners in the coming months. As a world leader in premium spirits, Beam Suntory is dedicated to providing consumers with quality craftmanship. Our new drinks in the portfolio will do just that. Lucozade Ribena Suntory Ireland, through its parent company Suntory Beverage and Food Europe, has been very vocal in its commitment to sustainability. Why is sustainability so important to the company? As part of the Suntory Group, we work towards the group’s global vision of ‘Growing for Good’: doing the right thing by people and the planet as we produce, market and sell our drinks.
The sustainability work that we do is anchored by four key pillars: our drinks, our resources, our society and ourselves, that all reinforce the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. We are looking at how we can work closely with our industry partners and government to develop the infrastructure necessary to drive wide-scale behavioural and societal change. For us, this includes making changes to our use of plastic and the technology and natural resources we use. What steps are you taking on this sustainability journey? The changes and innovations we are making are massive and are set to reduce both our plastic consumption and our carbon emissions. We are tackling the issue of plastic waste by focusing on using less and better packaging and generating less waste. We are taking action in three areas: making our drinks containers 100% recyclable in order to facilitate bottle-to-bottle recycling; moving towards only using sustainable plastic to make our bottles; and using the power of our brands to reinforce the importance
