Deal puts Welsh gin on shelves of 400 Tesco stores
AN award-winning Welsh gin is now available in Tesco stores across the UK following a deal to place it on the shelves of almost 400 stores.
Brecon Botanicals Gin, produced by the Penderyn Distillery, near Hirwaun, in Rhondda Cynon Taff, is now being stocked in 395 Tesco stores across the UK for the first time.
The deal to take the product UKwide followed a successful listing on the shelves of Tesco stores in Wales, where the gin, which won the Gin Trophy at the International Spirits Challenge in 2014, proved a hit with customers.
Gin has become an increasingly fashionable tipple, with the market for the traditional spirit seeing a major revival in recent years as consumers have moved to more premium products.
Tesco believes Brecon Botanicals Gin is likely to prove popular with increasingly discerning customers across the UK. It is a premium quality product produced in small batches, combining a specially selected range of botanicals and pure grain spirit.
Joining the gin on the shelves at Tesco stores across the UK is the distillery’s Five Vodka, which has won a listing at 528 Tesco stores across the UK. The premium vodka, made with water from the Brecon Beacons, is distilled five times for maximum purity, meaning that it doesn’t need any further filtration.
The new gin and vodka lines are in addition to a number of Penderyn whiskies stocked by Tesco, which was already the distillery’s biggest customer before this latest deal.
Tesco spirits buyer Andrew Hargreaves said that the high quality and strong provenance of both products meant they were well placed to tap into an increasing demand for premium spirits.
“We have had a long-standing relationship with the distillery,” he said.
“They produce very high quality products, which have strong branding and compete well with some of the biggest spirits brands on our shelves.
“Both of the products fit well with the trend we are seeing in the spirits market towards more premium spirits, with quality and provenance at the forefront of customers’ minds.”
With both products having been originally brought into Tesco through its local sourcing team based in Talbot Green, Mr Hargreaves said it showed how the supermarket was able to work with suppliers to help them grow their business within Tesco.
“Local ranging is a great way for Tesco and a manufacturer to test out the viability of working together and this deal shows how that approach can bring benefits for the suppliers we work with,” he added.
Stephen Davies, chief executive of Penderyn, said his team were excited at the deal and expected the new products to prove popular with Tesco customers across the UK.
“Everyone at Penderyn Distillery is thrilled that our Brecon Botanicals Gin and Five Vodka are being listed nationally by Tesco,” he said.
“This follows on from the success of our Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whiskies and our Merlyn Cream Liqueur listings in Tesco across the UK.”
Penderyn is just one of a wide range of food and drink producers that Tesco works with in Wales, with more than 350 Welsh products stocked at Welsh stores alone, and others stocked at stores throughout the UK.