Irish vodka brand i-stil 38 is eyeing further expansion in travel retail after gaining its first listing with Aer Rianta International at The Loop in Dublin Airport.
The brand, which was launched earlier this year by Sugarloaf Beverage Company, is already building its presence in Ireland’s domestic market. Sugarloaf Beverage Co-founder Shane Davey – who previously held senior positions with Irish Distillers, Diageo, Unilever and Britvic – aims to match its early growth on an international stage.
Davey founded Sugarloaf Beverage in 2021, in partnership with two other drinks industry specialists, John Reynolds and Niall O’Dwyer.
“While with Irish Distillers I noticed that vodka, the biggest selling spirit in Ireland and the third biggest selling spirit globally, did not have any Irish brands that were competing with the big international names,” Davey said.
“The Irish bars, hotels and restaurants, both domestically and abroad, were selling international vodka brands because there were no viable Irish alternatives.
“Discussing this with John and Niall, we felt our passion and knowledge for the industry would help us to succeed in exploiting this business opportunity if we were able to build the right team and develop a brilliant product.”
Irish businesswoman, ‘lifestyle guru’ and social media influencer Pippa O’Connor Ormond has also invested in the company and taken on the role of Creative Director.
“i-stil 38 was born from those discussions,” Davey said. “From the outset it was agreed that the liquid had to be able to stand up to the best standards within the industry, and the bottle needed to be more premium than the current brands already in market.”
i-stil 38 Irish vodka has three expressions in its range – a classic vodka and two flavours, Pink Berries and Vanilla – all slow distilled four times to ensure no further filtration is needed. The expressions are designed to be mixed into long drinks and cocktails.
The brand takes its name from a combination of ‘I’ for Irish, stil for the copper pot still which, according to Davey creates a very smooth vodka, and its 38% ABV.
Another key element behind i-stil 38 is the brand’s environmental and sustainability policy which includes a partnership with Hometree to support its mission to establish and conserve permanent and native woodland in Ireland.
Five cents from every bottle sold of i-stil 38 will be donated to Hometree. According to Davey, the i-stil 38 bottle was chosen due to its shape and weight to ensure less CO2 emissions, underlining the brand’s commitment to being a carbon-neutral company.
i-stil 38 recorded sales of €300,000 in the first eight months of trading and aims to double sales by 2024. Looking ahead, Davey said: “Next year is about solidifying what we have in the Irish market, trying to build on it.
“i-stil 38 is proud to be Irish but doesn’t only want to rely on its Irish credentials to generate sales. It wants to be able to stand on its own merits and be known for its quality of the liquid and live up to its ‘Irish water and grain perfected’ tagline.
“In terms of international ambitions travel retail is the most important placement we have. However, we need to ensure that we are identified as a premium Irish product and do not get lost amongst the other international premium vodka brands out there.”
Commenting on i-stil 38’s next steps in travel retail, Davey said: “Ideally we would like to target mainland Europe next year, Portugal, France, Spain and Germany.
“Ireland, through the work of Bord Bia [an Irish state agency with the aim of promoting sales of Irish food and horticulture both in Ireland and abroad], has a brilliant international reputation for making superior food and drink products. We need to latch onto that association and try and build our brand as the only choice when it comes to premium Irish vodka.
“There are Irish bars all over the world, and they all sell Irish whiskey, and Irish gin, and yet none I have been to sell an Irish vodka, their biggest spirit category.”
The USA travel retail is also earmarked in expansion plans as Davey believes i-stil 38 could target the strong Irish American market.
“Duty free is fantastic as a shop window for a brand, but unless you are one of the big players, like Pernod Ricard or Diageo for example, it is difficult to make any money in the channel. It is very expensive to be in, to activate in and to gain any standout. But at the same time, it brings a brand to the consumer’s attention and helps build brand awareness.”
Davey underlined the role that social media – and having O’Connor Osmond as Creative Director [#pipsy_ pie has 427,000 followers on Instagram] – have played in i-stil 38’s success to date.
“Pippa has allowed us to talk to and reach more people quicker than we could have possibly hoped to. Her demographic and followers on social media are the exact Irish demographic we had identified to make a fantastic vodka for. She brings a huge amount of insight and up to date trends to our business.”
Asked if Sugarloaf Beverage will be considering the development of other premium spirits, Davey said: “We will certainly strategically link up with other brands, but i-stil 38 will always be a vodka. Focusing only on one category will hopefully allow us to grow within that category.
“You don’t see Jameson gin, or Absolut whiskey. And both Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin and Dingle Original Gin have done amazingly by not trying to focus on too many categories. They know where their strengths are, just as we do.”
