just-drinks authors and correspondents

Biography

A trained newspaper journalist, Richard Woodard was editor of the drinks trade magazine Wine & Spirit International from 2000 to 2005, responsible for writing, commissioning and producing a broad range of business-related content relevant to the international drinks industry.

He now works freelance and is a regular contributor to just-drinks.com, Decanter, The Spirits Business, The Drinks Business and Imbibe, among others.

Columns by Richard Woodard

Comment - Spirits - A Word with Woodard

Resident columnist and spirits know-it-all Richard Woodard provides his monthly take on the latest in the global white spirits industry.

Articles by Richard Woodard

Maintaining consumer trust in the social media age - Comment 10 April 2018

Consumers are suffering a "crisis of trust" when it comes to corporate entities, according to recent research. Spirits commentator Richard Woodard looks at how Diageo is faring with consumers, at a time when social media makes it all too easy to offend them.

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Moet Hennessy Performance Trends 2013-2017 - results data 26 March 2018

In late-January, LVMH, the parent company of Moet Hennessy, released its - and its business units' results for 2017. The wine and spirits division saw its sales in the 12 months increase by 7% on the year prior. Here, just-drinks considers Moet Hennessy's performance over the last five years.

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What can the spirits and wine industries learn from Moet Hennessy? - Comment 26 March 2018

Following on from just-drinks' analysis of Moët Hennessy's performance over the last five years, spirits commentator Richard Woodard considers the takeaways for the wider spirits and wine industries.

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Henkell & Co details Freixenet stake purchase 19 March 2018

Henkell & Co has confirmed its acquisition of a majority stake in Cava giant Freixenet, creating the world's largest sparkling wine business – as exclusively revealed by just-drinks last week.

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Champagne sales approach US$6bn in 2017, but "Brexit effect" hampers UK performance - figures 19 March 2018

Global Champagne shipments netted a record EUR4.87bn (US$5.98bn) in 2017, up 3.5% on 2016, while volumes inched up 0.4% to 307.3m bottles, official figures show.

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MD Hugues Lechanoine departs Baron Philippe de Rothschild, as Mondelez executive moves to head up branded division 19 March 2018

Baron Philippe de Rothschild has confirmed the departure of one of its three managing directors, Hugues Lechanoine, 12 months after he left the French wine group.

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Toorank revamps Sloane's gin packaging 19 March 2018

Dutch spirits company Toorank has given premium dry gin brand Sloane's a packaging makeover, taking inspiration from the story of traveller and naturalist Hans Sloane.

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Can rum walk the line between fun and serious? - Research in Focus 8 March 2018

Once hailed as the 'next big thing' in the spirits industry, rum has underachieved in recent times on the global stage - but the sector could yet fulfil its potential over the next few years.

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Rum poised for global turnaround - research 8 March 2018

Global rum sales have disappointed in recent years, but the category could be set for a much-needed resurgence over the next five years, according to the Global Rum Insights 2018 report from just-drinks and The IWSR.

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When spirits companies cut their marketing budgets, why not increase yours? - Comment 27 February 2018

Spirits commentator Richard Woodard will have been relieved to see the back of The Winter Olympics last weekend. He now has the time to ponder companies' marketing spends... and to run his rule over Pernod Ricard's latest - somewhat risqué - activation for Absolut.