Scottish distiller Edrington targets Nigeria’s whisky market with a new partnership with Premium Spirits Nigeria

Edrington, the owner of premium whisky brands including The Famous Grouse, Highland Park, Cutty Sark and The Macallan, has partnered with Premium Spirits Nigeria (PS Nigeria) to target Nigeria’s whisky market. Premium Spirits Nigeria is a division of the Nigerian Bottling Company, the Coca-Cola bottler in Nigeria.

Under the new partnership, PS Nigeria will expand distribution in Nigeria of Edrington’s brands and seek to challenge the dominance of Diageo and Pernod Ricard in the whisky category. Edrington is also likely to seek grow its Snow Leopard vodka and Brugal rum brands.

On our most recent visit to traditional markets in Lagos, we noted that the spirits brand landscape was shifting rapidly – not only in terms of a strong emphasis on flavoured vodkas but also in terms of what brandy and whisky brands traders said consumers were asking for – with availability and high profile advertising campaigns proving decisive factors.

PS Nigeria’s distribution network will provide a vital boost to Edrington’s brand portfolio, although it will have to work to attract consumers’ and retailers’ attention: Diageo, Pernod Ricard and Campari Group all market significantly larger portfolios of brands – between 15-30, compared to Edrington’s six core brands. It’s a congested market, rife with parallel trade and counterfeiting and where many consumers have little awareness of newer brands.