Page 56 - Bord Bia

CONTENTS

STAGE 1

c) Product Development
Continued

(i) Brewing & Distilling Expertise.
Unless you have brewing or distilling experience or qualiications yourself, you’ll need to employ the
technical skills of a master brewer or distiller to lead the development of your liquid. The master brewer or
distiller will bring expertise in choosing and sourcing the right quality ingredients for your product. They
should also have clear views on the best approach to your brewing or distilling operations for producing
optimum liquid quality and consistency. These skills are growing increasingly scarce given the demand
and level of activity in the drinks business in Ireland. One of your options is to check with the industry
associations set up to provide training and expert advice in these disciplines. Internationally, the Institute
of Brewing & Distilling (www.ibd.org.uk) may have advice on where to look for such expertise. In Ireland,
the Irish Whiskey Association and the Irish Brewers Association and Beer Ireland (the artisan brewers
association at www.beerireland.ie) may also provide you with direction on where to start looking for a
master brewer.

(ii) Develop Unique Recipes.
Firstly you should generate ideas for drinks that will satisfy an unmet need in a highly diferentiated way
among your target consumers. These ideas need to it with the gap identiied from your market analysis
in topic A

Identify what you want to brew such as stouts, ales, lagers or distill-such as brown, white or cream spirits.
Then consider the types of ingredients you’ll need to develop a unique ofering. Consider the style in
which you could brew or distill these ingredients to create a great range of products that are distinctive
from your competitive set.

(iii) Quality Ingredients.
Great quality beer or spirits can only be created with the sourcing of high quality ingredients for your
recipes. It is critical to identify & locate the most consistent, reliable and quality sources for your key
ingredients at home and overseas. There are key common ingredients for both the brewing of beer and
the distillation of spirits. This creates an opportunity for co-opetition, a practice of sharing suppliers with
competitors to secure the inancial advantage of volume sourcing. Collaboration opportunities also arise
between non-competing parties such as a distillery and a brewery, since both require barley for example.

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