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

Comment - Spirits - Gin's Long Quest for Kwan 11 June 2014

For a spirits brand, what does being a “category leader” mean? Is it purely a blunt measure of cases sold? Profit made? Or something more elusive and nebulous? Richard Woodard, gin in hand, investigates.

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Comment - Spirits - Brand Loyalty? Let's Be Friends 27 March 2014

The aim of all brand owners is to secure consumer loyalty above all competitors. But, as Richard Woodard suggests, this might be an unattainable - and hence unrealistic - aim.

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Comment - Spirits - Tequila: Is Diageo Left With the Scraps? 11 February 2014

Following a flurry of activity in the Tequila sector last month, has Diageo finally returned to the point it had previously reached when it handled Jose Cuervo? Richard Woodard compares then to now.

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Comment - Spirits - Where Next for Flavoured Vodka? 14 January 2014

Flavoured vodka may have hit a bump in the US, but there's a major opportunity in global markets for the sub-category, argues Richard Woodard.

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RUSSIA: Russian Standard takes Jose Cuervo distribution from Whitehall 9 December 2013

Russian Standard distribution arm Roust Inc has taken over the marketing and distribution of Jose Cuervo Tequila in Russia from Whitehall Group.

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UK: Scotch Whisky Assocation targets alcohol abuse with US$820,000 fund launch 9 December 2013

Industry group the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) is investing GBP500,000 (US$820,000) in a new fund to tackle alcohol-related harm in Scotland.

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UK: Robinsons Brewery unveils Trooper billboard campaign 9 December 2013

Family-owned Robinsons Brewery has launched the first London billboard campaign in its 175-year history – to advertise Iron Maiden ale Trooper.

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US: Lager still favourite beer style - Anheuser-Busch InBev 9 December 2013

Lager remains the beer style of choice for Americans, with consumers preferring it to ale by a wide margin, according to a survey carried out in the US for Anheuser-Busch (A-B).

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UK: Stowford Press launches London Underground ad push 9 December 2013

Westons Cider-owned Stowford Press has launched its first London Underground ad campaign in a bid to target party-goers in the run-up to Christmas.

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Comment - Spirits - Can Absinthe Make You Mad? No. But Selling it Might 14 November 2013

Category definitions are an on-going minefield in parts of the spirits industry. Gin, rum and Tequila have all suffered from muddled thinking. But none compare to what absinthe has experienced. Here, Richard Woodard wages war on the red-tape wretchedness that surrounds the category