Dingle Gin bets on bold redesign to fuel next phase of international growth

After more than a decade on shelves and back bars, Dingle Gin is preparing for one of the most significant moments in its history: a complete bottle redesign and brand refresh that will officially launch this month. Fionnuala Carolan spoke to Elliot Hughes, manager director of Dingle Gin about elevating their premium gin in a fairly saturated market

For managing director Elliot Hughes, the upcoming  relaunch of Dingle Gin  represents far more than a  cosmetic update. It is a strategic  repositioning designed to strengthen  the brand’s export potential, improve  visibility in international markets and  reinforce Dingle Gin’s place as one  of Ireland’s leading premium spirits  brands.  “We’re 13 years old now, so it  gives us an opportunity to talk about  the brand again,” Hughes says.  “Sometimes you need a reason to get  people to think about you.”

The redesign marks a bold move  for a brand whose original bottle had  become highly recognisable to Irish  consumers. But while the existing  design carried strong familiarity  at home, Hughes says feedback  from overseas markets increasingly  suggested the brand needed stronger  visual impact.  “People in export markets didn’t  really like the bottle,” he explains. “Irish  consumers knew it because we were  one of the first premium Irish gins,  but internationally the see-through  element didn’t give enough standout  on a busy back bar.”  The challenge was particularly  noticeable in competitive premium  spirits environments, especially in the  United States, where shelf presence  and bartender recommendations play  a major role in consumer purchasing  decisions.  “In the US market, consumers rely  on recommendations from bartenders  far more than we do here,” Hughes  says. “You need a bottle that catches  attention immediately.”

Strong brand loyalty 

Despite those limitations, Dingle Gin  has continued to grow steadily both  in Ireland and abroad, driven largely  by strong word-of-mouth and loyalty  within the on-trade.  “The gin still managed to grow  because people simply asked for it,”  Hughes says. “Sometimes I’ll walk into  a bar and discover they’re using Dingle  as their house pouring gin.”  That trend towards premiumisation  within the hospitality sector has  become increasingly important for  the brand. Hughes believes many bars  and restaurants are now prioritising  quality over price-led offerings, even  for house pours.  “If someone asks for a house wine  in somewhere like The Shelbourne,  they’re not going to give them poor  quality wine,” he says. “We’re seeing  more bars and restaurants applying  that same thinking to gin.”

A bottle inspired by the Dingle  Peninsula 

The new bottle design takes much of its  inspiration from the natural landscape  surrounding the distillery itself.  “It’s built around the landscape, the  peninsula and the sandy beaches,”  Hughes explains. “There’s much more  texture and feel to the bottle.”  That tactile quality reflects  broader trends within premium  spirits packaging, where consumers  increasingly value bottles that deliver  a stronger sense of craftsmanship and  authenticity.  “Consumers are really leaning into  textured packaging now,” he says. “It  gives us much more opportunity to tell  the story of where the product comes  from.”

The redesign will also allow the  business greater flexibility for future  innovation and product development.  “This bottle gives us more  opportunities for additional product  lines and flavour extensions in the  future,” Hughes says.  At the same time, the company is  conscious that changing a recognisable  bottle carries risks, particularly with  loyal existing consumers.  “There are definitely people who’ve  said, ‘you can’t change that bottle —  it’s iconic’,” Hughes says.  A major focus of the relaunch  campaign will therefore be ensuring  both publicans and consumers  understand that while the packaging  is evolving, the liquid itself remains  unchanged.  “We want people to know it’s the  same product and not a rival one,” he  says.  To mark the occasion, the distillery  is also launching Dingle Gin Orange  & Sea Salt, built on the same awardwinning  botanical recipe.

Built initially to support  whiskey 

Dingle Distillery was established in  2012 by Hughes’ father, Oliver Hughes,  as part of the wider Porterhouse  hospitality and brewing business.  While whiskey was always the longterm  ambition, gin and vodka were  initially developed to generate cashflow  while the whiskey matured.  “When we started Dingle Distillery,  the reason we did gin and vodka was  really to support whiskey production,”  Hughes says. “At the time, we had our  own bars, so the thinking was we’d  pour it there and maybe get a few  bars around Dingle to stock it.”  The company had modest  ambitions in its early years and little  expectation of how dramatically the  gin category would evolve globally.  “Within two or three years, gin  started to explode,” Hughes recalls.  “We weren’t developing a product  to meet growing demand, we just  happened to already have one there.  We were very lucky and able to take advantage of that.”

The rapid  growth of premium gin transformed  Dingle from a small supporting spirits  operation into one of Ireland’s bestknown  independent distilleries.  Hughes himself originally entered  the family business through the  operational side of the Porterhouse  after finishing college.  “My knowledge of premium spirits  at the time was pretty limited,” he  laughs. “I was more into cheap cider in  college!”.  His role within the company  evolved rapidly following the death of  his father shortly after he joined the  business.  “My father passed away about two  years after I entered the business, so  I stepped into that role fairly quickly,”  Hughes says.  The wider family business has deep  roots in Irish brewing and hospitality.  Oliver Hughes and his cousin first  launched a brewery in Blessington  in 1983 before later opening the first  Porterhouse pub in Bray in 1989 and  subsequently the well-known Temple  Bar brewery in 1996.

Why Dingle? 

The decision to locate the distillery  in Dingle itself was driven as much  by storytelling and atmosphere as by  production considerations.  “My family had been holidaying  in Dingle since before I was born,”  Hughes says. “My mother brought  my father there in the 1980s and  eventually we bought a house there.”  While the family already operated  brewing facilities in Dublin, Hughes  says his father believed a distillery  needed a stronger sense of place.  “He felt a distillery needed a bit  more romance and storytelling than  putting it into an industrial estate,”  Hughes says. “Dingle just seemed the  obvious location.”  The town’s reputation for tourism,  food and hospitality also made it  attractive as a visitor destination.  Today, the distillery welcomes  approximately 17,000 to 18,000  visitors annually through tours and  tastings.  “It’s really just a tin shed,” Hughes  jokes. “But people come, they  experience the product and hopefully  become brand ambassadors for us.”  Those visitors often become  valuable long-term customers,  particularly through travel retail  channels.  “We get a lot of people buying  bottles in Dublin Airport on the way  home after visiting the distillery,”  Hughes says.  Travel retail remains a significant  channel for the business, with Dublin  Duty Free standing as its largest  individual retail customer.  “We’re on promotion there two or  three times a year,” he says.

Export growth gathering pace 

While Ireland remains a core market,  Hughes says the company’s major  future opportunities lie overseas,  especially in the US.  “We grew 35% in spirits across  the board in the US last year and we  expect to exceed that this year,” he  says.  Rather than attempting nationwide  expansion immediately, the company  is concentrating on a targeted number  of key states.  “We tend to focus on six or seven  states,” Hughes explains. “There’s  no point spreading yourself too thin  across 20 states and not achieving  anything meaningful.”  The company is also exploring  opportunities in emerging markets  including India and Nigeria, both of  which Hughes sees as potentially  important future destinations for Irish  spirits.  “India is a significant market  that’s opening up, especially with  tariffs reducing under the EU trade  agreement,” he says.  At present, the company’s overall  portfolio is split approximately 45%  whiskey, 45% gin and 10% vodka.  While Dingle Gin has gained strong  traction domestically, Hughes  acknowledges that the company’s  whiskey business currently has greater  penetration across mainland Europe.  “Germany, the UK and France are  strong whiskey markets for us,” he  says. “The gin hasn’t yet achieved the  same level of foothold.”  However, the redesigned bottle is  already helping improve distributor  confidence internationally.  “Our German partners are very  excited about the new bottle and have  already placed orders,” Hughes says.  “Sometimes growth is simply about  having the right partner in the right  market.”

Facing a changing market 

Like many premium drinks brands,  Dingle Gin is also navigating changing  consumer behaviour amid ongoing  cost-of-living pressures.  “We’re probably moving back  towards more value-driven occasions  now,” Hughes says. “Consumers are  more cautious both at home and in  the on-trade.”  He believes rising prices have  particularly impacted gin and tonic  sales in pubs and bars.  “If you compare the cost of a gin  and tonic against a pint or a glass of  wine, the gap has widened,” he says.  “That’s definitely one of the challenges  facing the category.”  At the same time, Hughes believes  the gin market has now stabilised after  several years of explosive growth.  “We’re probably past saturation  point,” he says. “During Covid, retailers  massively expanded the number of gin  SKUs. That’s reduced again now.”  However, Dingle benefited from  establishing itself early within the  premium Irish gin segment.  “We were lucky because we  became one of the core brands,”  Hughes says. “Publicans didn’t  destock us when the category  tightened.”  Looking ahead, Hughes says  the ambition is straightforward: to  establish Dingle Gin as a globally  recognised premium Irish spirits  brand.  “We’ve achieved that in Ireland,” he  says. “If over the next five years we  can become a household premium gin  brand across major European markets  and America, that would be a huge  success for us.”