Sunshine launch signals Tennent’s creative intent
Tennent’s NI moved into the local limelight again this month with the trade launch of its latest offering, Clonmel 1650, a light and distinctive Irish lager.
This was a timely launch for Tennent’s NI, part of the C&C Group, coming on the back of strong financial returns. The Group recently announced growth of about 30 per cent to the end of February this year, with operating profits up by more than 10 per cent to nearly €127m. But that performance is split across the various markets in which it operates, with its divisions in Scotland and Ireland turning in a hefty 74 per cent of those earnings.
Tennent’s NI is C&C Group’s all-encompassing moniker for its sales, marketing and distribution operations north of the border and speaking to LCN recently, Jeff Tosh said that he felt the northern division was in a “very fortunate” position, having gained a significant package of new business in recent months.
Tosh is head of on-trade in Northern Ireland for Tennent’s NI and he looks after customer marketing in the island of Ireland. That puts him into close personal contact with the trade and gives him a valuable insight into conditions on the ground for a sector that many believe is seeing strong signs of a longed-for economic recovery.
“Business is certainly coming back”, confirms Tosh, “but like all things economic, it’s only in certain areas as yet. Belfast in particular is doing very well and you can see that in a lot of the new investment that is going on, particularly in the Cathedral Quarter.”
It’s hardly by coincidence that Tosh mentions the fastest-growing section of the city: Tennent’s NI secured its own stake in the burgeoning entertainment centre recently when it paired up with Bill Wolsey’s Beannchor Group which includes The Dirty Onion – where the recent trade launch of Clonmel 1650 was held – The National Grande and The Merchant Hotel, all within the bounds of the Cathedral Quarter’s cobbled streets.
“Getting closer to the customer is part of my role and Tennent’s NI certainly isn’t spending less now than it has in the past despite the downturn, but we are putting our money into some new areas to support our customers in the trade,” adds Tosh. “We’re organising innovative events, such as taking the ‘All Hail Heverlee’ Rickshaws on the road during the Great Ulster Pub Week recently and we’ve set up an all-new customer forum which gives us an additional route to gain the sort of insights that direct and shape new product development alongside our ongoing overview of market trends. Talking in depth with customers can add an interesting kick of creativity.”
Evolve
Jeff Tosh is a familiar face to the NI trade. He arrived at Tennent’s from the Musgrave Group in September, but this is his second stint with the company and he’s also worked for close local rival, Diageo, where he helped upwards of 150 local licensed premises evolve their offerings in his capacity as retail development manager.
That focus on continuous momentum is present with Tennent’s NI too – the distributor has been involved in establishing perhaps a dozen new beer and cider gardens around Northern Ireland in recent years, the latest one on the roof at Queen’s University in Belfast.
But innovation generally, says Tosh, is critical, both in terms of service and product:
“Innovation is what allows us to maintain our competitive edge and the company is already well known – and highly respected – for its capacity to bring fresh and relevant new products to market. For us, innovation needs to cascade throughout every element of the business and we are consistently and firmly focused on finding new ways to do things better. In fact, innovation is such a central element of our ethos that it’s a ‘must cover’ topic for our weekly management meetings. We devote a considerable amount of time, effort, investment as well as professional expertise to developing our creative approach to business and it is paying off. The fruits of our labours are evident in the fresh partnership that Tennent’s NI has brought to working with the trade, but of course the most high profile evidence of innovation lies in our new product launches, with our most recent success story the great uptake of Heverlee in the past year.”
Following hard on the recent introduction of the new Pilsner-style Clonmel 1650 will be two more significant cider launches in August: Montano from Italy and an American alternative, Woodchuck. The company sees massive growth potential in international ciders on the back of continuing interest in the cider market in the UK and the influx of younger adult drinkers who want access to new and more interesting brands.
Differentiation extends beyond the product range, however, and Tennent’s NI is a well-established presence on the concert scene with its annual Tennent’s Vital event, now in its 10th year. It’s also a strong supporter of Belsonic, an outdoor music festival that has taken place in Belfast every year since 2008.
“Tennent’s Vital is probably the biggest music festival in Ireland and it’s critical to us,” says Tosh. “All of this provides great sampling platforms for our brands. Music fans are a big part of our target market and this is the perfect opportunity for us to work in partnership with them and to have them taste our brands against the perfect backdrop. This is different from normal sampling, it’s an experience for them.”
At a customer level, he says that Tennent’s NI’s support has become more bespoke in recent years. Everything is in tune with the customers’ requirements, artwork and PoS is tailored to suit the needs of individual outlets and the half-day customer forum sessions help Tennent’s NI shape its future strategy.
Tennent’s NI’s loan book supports traders through financial investment that is paid back over an agreed period of time – the company continues to grow its business here.
And the distributor has held the price of its company-owned draught brands for customers over the last three years as a further incentive.
Looking towards the future, Jeff Tosh says that there are plans for online Barmaster training which will help get staff certified in a number of areas, including bar management and food pairing. That will roll out over the next year and will complement Tennent’s NI’s existing training programmes.
Beyond that, he says that he doesn’t see any huge change in the way in which the company will conduct its business locally:
“We are a leading supplier in the drinks sector with a strong portfolio and presence in Northern Ireland,” he remarks. “We plan to extend that in the future and that will be about the quality of our product range; we’ll be concerned with our methods, with new technology and our links to the community and charity. Everything is working very well for us at present and we want to continue with that to keep the innovation coming through.”
