Irish gin maker targets top-10 global brand status with annual sales of €100m-plus

The co-founder of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin says the company’s aim is to become one of the world’s top 10 gin brands, with annual sales in excess of €100 million.

Speaking to The Irish Times following publication of its latest annual results, Pat Rigney said: “There are going to be eight to 10 premium gin brands in the world and we want to be one of them. We have a long way to go but we’re investing everything we have back into the business.”

Accounts just filed for PJ Rigney Distillery & International Brands Ltd show that the company increased its pretax profit for the year to the end of September 2022 by about 22 per cent to just under €3.4 million.

Accumulated profits

Turnover rose by €5 million to €16.9 million in the period. Its accumulated profits rose to just under €12 million at the year end, up from €8.7 million previously.

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Based in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim, the Shed Distillery was founded by Mr Rigney and his wife, Denise Rigney, and produces gin, vodka and whiskey, with its Gunpowder gin brand the flagship product. It also operates a visitor centre at the distillery, conducting about 25,000 tours last year.

Mr Rigney said it recently hired its 100th employee and invested close to €1 million at the facility to boost its capacity.

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Looking to the future, Mr Rigney acknowledged that the company needs to expand into Latin America and improve its coverage in Asia to become a “truly global brand”. It recently signed a significant agreement with a distributor in India, which is set to become the world’s most populous country.

“There are some markets [for gin] that we’re not in yet but we’re looking at them in a very serious way,” he said.

When asked if the company might seek external investment or a sale to turbocharge growth, Mr Rigney replied: “No we’re not looking at that. We’re very focused on using our own resources to drive on the business. We want to retain control of the company. We are only on the first leg of our journey ... we have a long way to go.”

Trading well

Mr Rigney described current trading as “good” but said rising input costs had squeezed its margins and made it a “much more challenging environment”.

In March, it emerged that Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin had secured a listing with Aer Lingus, with the drink becoming available on all Aer Lingus flights during the month. It had secured a listing with Ryanair in January.

The Shed Distillery and Monarq Group also recently entered into a distribution partnership that paves the way for Monarq to represent Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin in the Caribbean and selected Latin America domestic and duty-free markets.