The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Foreign markets beckon for Angus vodka producer
An Angus farming family that has its own vodka brand is eyeing big opportunities in the US and other foreign markets.
The Jarron family officially launched Ogilvy Spirits in January 2015.
Graeme Jarron, who runs Hatton of Ogilvy Farm, Glamis, came up with the idea for making premium potato vodka when he was looking at options for diversification.
His wife, Caroline Bruce-Jarron, who is in charge of brand and marketing for the drinks business, took time out to give The Courier an update on the venture.
She said: “We currently produce around 6,000 bottles per year, but this could increase to as much as 20,000 bottles next year if we make the impact on export markets we are hoping for.
“We are focused on quality and have been gradually growing our brand so that we find the right outlets to sell into.
“It is a premium spirit, so will never compete on price with mass-produced vodkas and other spirits.
“Consumers are becoming more aware of where their spirits come from and are drinking less, but drinking better-quality drinks.
“The real difference with us is that we produce everything from scratch on farm.
“There are very few producers who do this, and this gives us a unique difference.
“We do not use neutral grain spirit to produce our vodka. Our spirit is made from our own potatoes sourced from the fields on our farm and distilled, bottled and hand-labelled on farm.”
Caroline added that, in terms of its marketplace, Ogilvy Spirits currently supplies throughout Scotland to the on-trade and off-trade.
“We focus mainly on independent bottle shops, farm shops and delis for the off-trade. “We do not supply into any of the supermarkets. “We have also been building our presence in the on-trade and this is something that we are actively working on to get into more bars, restaurants and hotels. We also have a distributor who provides coverage for the rest of the UK.”
Around 90% of the vodka currently produced is for the home market, but Graeme said the opportunities abroad are huge.
Ogilvy Spirits has recently started a small amount of exports to Japan and Singapore. It is also looking at markets in America and France, as well as Hong Kong.
Graeme added: “The US in particular is a massive market for vodka and we think there will be big demand for our premium product.”
As well as Ogilvy Scottish potato vodka, the business sells a pre-mix artisan cocktail range made with the firm’s own vodka as the base spirit.
There are three flavours in the cocktail range at present, although this is expected to expand to five by next summer.