Australian distillers have highlighted the need for the Federal Government to help the industry, as it has done previously with wine, and realise its potential of becoming a $1bn export industry by 2035.
The Drinks Adventures podcast, by James Atkinson, the Media & Communications Manager for Spirits & Cocktails Australia, has published a special episode, which brings together a range of comments from Australian distillers made as part of Federal Inquiry into Food and Beverage Manufacturing in Australia.
This episode presents audio from four separate hearings held in Sydney, Canberra, Hobart and Melbourne between June and August and features Will Edwards, Archie Rose, Dan Hamilton, Diageo Australia, Satya Sharma, Lark, David Vitale, Starward, Kylie McPherson, Brown-Forman, Nicole Lestal, SCA, Holly Klintworth, ADA, Paul McLeay, ADA, Mark Hill, Suntory Global Spirits, Simon Marton, Starward and Julian Train, Hickson House.
The episode highlights the need for reform to help, not just the Australian spirits industry but all the other Australian industries that can benefit through strong growth.
Edwards said: “If we were to review the excise rate, that would then generate a great deal more investment into business growth in the industry. And I’ll just talk myself off the cuff very quickly. That’s more people hired, that’s more malt purchased from the growers out in Griffith. That’s more neutral spirit from Manildra, more Australian botanicals, more bottles, more glass, more everything.”
Train spoke about how a fully-supported industry will be able to educate more Australians on how good these local products are.
“For us Aussie producers, part of our challenge and part of what we want to achieve over time is, even locally here, is people choosing more Australian over international brands. You know, the gin category, for example, is in decline, but it’s a huge category.
“So really there’s so much room for Australian-made products to expand and change consumers’ choices. And so in an ideal world, in five years’ time, if we get this right, we can be championing our own locally made product here, just the same as we’ve done in wine.”
The comparisons with wine are ones many speakers have brought up, but Starward Founder David Vitale also highlighted how governments in other countries are helping their producers see huge growth.
“Tequila now is the fastest growing spirits category in Australia,” he said. “There’s a coordinated effort by the Mexican government to kind of advocate for tequila around the world. We are making agave spirits, which is very exciting and talks to the innovation that we have.
“But I think the bigger point is that we’re getting outstripped because we’ve effectively bootstrapped ourselves to this point and we need some more support because otherwise we’re going to get left behind.”
The drive to advocate for Australian spirits was also raised by Lark CEO Sash Sharma, he said: “If you sit in Australia and you talk about what we’ve got that the rest of the world doesn’t, it’s not that we’re short of stories. It’s not that we’re short of amazing product. It’s just that we don’t have a megaphone. The thing that catapults us and drives speed to market will be creating that awareness of what we uniquely bring to the world.”
Listen to the podcast through the link below.