Whisky Innovation Survey 2011
Report description
It’s fair to say that the words “whisky” and “innovation” don’t always sit naturally together; that, for all the success enjoyed in global markets by categories like Scotch, Irish and American whisky, the sector is often thought of as essentially reactionary and apt to rest on its laurels, rather than looking for new and creative ways in which to engage today’s consumers.
How true is this? If true, is it important? And what should the industry be doing about it? This just-drinks Whisky Innovation Survey aims to provide some answers to these questions. We sent our questionnaire out to targeted whisky industry figures, as well as just-drinks site visitors, receiving several hundred responses – an illustration that this is clearly an issue that strikes a chord with the industry.
Questions asked:
1. How high a priority is innovation within the whisky category for your business in 2011?
2. How does this compare to previous years?
3. How would you rate the priority levels of the following innovations?
4. How do you view the relatively strict regulations governing Scotch whisky production?
5. Do you consider the regulations to be a barrier to innovation?
6. Could you explain why you consider the regulations to be, or not to be, innovation barriers.
7. Would you support changes to the rules governing Scotch to encourage innovation within the category?
8. Please indicate how you feel about the following changes:
a. The addition of extra ingredients to modify flavour
b. Changes to minimum age requirements
c. The use of alternative raw materials
d. Changes to methods of production/distillation
e. Changes to methods of maturation
9. How far can you use whisky’s production process to feed innovation? For example: raw materials, distillation process, type/length of oak maturation
10. How do you make the consumer buy into this?
11. What lessons, in innovation terms, can whisky learn from other spirits categories?
12. And what lessons can be learnt from other food and drink categories?
13. Which rival spirits categories do you think have been better at developing new products and packaging than whisky in the recent past?
14. Age statements have proven a convenient signpost for consumers, but do they hinder true innovation in the sector?
15. How might geographical provenance be used to drive innovation (beyond distillery location within the single malt segment)?
16. What is the best or worst innovation you've seen in the whisky category?
Table of contents
Introduction and summary
Detailed Findings
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