There’s still growth opportunities for Irish whiskey, says Irish Distillers

With nearly two decades at Irish Distillers, Anna Kelly, head of Innovation & Portfolio, talks to Fionnuala Carolan about how her approach to brand management and innovation has evolved over the years

Anna Kelly started her career as a Jameson brand ambassador in the UK, roaming London bars with a whiskey tasting kit and a lot of enthusiasm, educating bar tenders on the smooth taste of Irish whiskey. The most nerve-wracking part? “Making Irish Coffees and praying the cream wouldn’t sink!” she says.

Over the two decades, she’s learned the power of sticking to your brand fundamentals and not getting distracted by the noise.

Later, while working in marketing in the UK, she helped roll out a mixability campaign to drive trial, a great reminder that sometimes the simplest actions, like getting liquid into hands, delivers the strongest results. Eventually, she joined the global team in Ireland, working across market communications and leading global innovations.

She says that consistency is the most important trait for the success of a brand. “The importance of anchoring everything in our core truth and being consistent with that message: “Triple Distilled, Smooth Taste.” When we veer too far from that, we feel it in our brand metrics. No matter how innovative the idea, the message must remain rooted in what makes Jameson… Jameson” she says.

How to remain at the top

Jameson Original is the world’s number one Irish whiskey and one of the world’s top 10 spirit brands, sold in over 130 countries. So she jokes “no pressure at all” remaining in that place. I ask if she can share the strategic thinking behind the restaging of Jameson Original and Black Barrel? “The restage was more evolution than revolution,” she explains. “We spoke with consumers, bartenders and retailers across key markets, off-licences in Johannesburg and saw clear opportunities to increase stand-out and amplify key product truths.
“People have less time and patience when they are browsing choice on the shelf. With that in mind, we brought forward the most important cues: quality, craft and smoothness, adding a more modern twist, without losing what’s iconic about the pack.”
Black Barrel was a more complex challenge, she admits. “It’s the No.2 product in the portfolio, with one of the most intricate production stories from Midleton Distillery. We wanted to ensure the story behind the product was being fully told, so we worked closely with both the distillers and blenders along with consumers, going back and forth until we landed on a version that struck the right balance – celebrating the craft without overwhelming the audience. The finished article resulted in us moving away from only talking about one aspect of the production story – charred barrels – to a more holistic story where we tell the untold story of this exceptional blend, made up of select batch of expertly aged whiskeys. The blenders and distillers aren’t the type to shout about their work, it’s their day-to-day, but drawing out that quiet mastery was essential.”

The Jameson Triple Triple Chestnut Edition

The Jameson Triple Triple Chestnut Edition launched this year in key markets with a simple proposition: Always triple distilled, now triple cask. “The addition of chestnut casks delivers a luxurious finish and the product is packaged with Jameson’s signature approachability and wit. The name is playful but purposeful: Triple Distilled, Triple Cask, Triple character.”

Chestnut wood isn’t commonly used in whiskey maturation although the master distiller Kevin O’Gorman had been talking about it for some time. “To be honest, we weren’t immediately sold. But once we tasted the liquid, we got it. It was one of those moments where instinct meets innovation.

“It reminded us that consumer feedback is critical, but it’s just one part of the puzzle. Listening to the distillery experts, the people who live and breathe this craft, is equally vital. This release was a genuine three-way collaboration between innovation, production, and marketing and I really enjoyed playing my part in bringing this expression to life.”

Staying relevant

Packaging is such an important element of a brand and finding the right balance between stand out on bar/shelf, relevance and nostalgia is a hard one to find. Jameson’s packaging needs to stay relevant across diverse global markets so how do they ensure that this happens?

“We invest heavily in research, both qualitative and quantitative” explains Anna. “We speak with trade and consumers across key regions to understand what matters most and where improvements can be made. With modern research tools, we can now activate multi-market studies and get insights back so quickly. It’s been a game-changer. When a brand is thriving globally, you tread carefully. We aim to protect and enhance what’s working, not overhaul for the sake of it.”

Fostering creativity

In such a global company, a lot of focus is on fostering creativity and cohesion across multifaceted teams. Anna says that they manage this by “staying curious”, watching other categories to emerging cultural trends. The company has a foresight team tracking macro trends and informing the team of what’s coming down the line. They found this particularly helpful post-Covid, with so much consumer shift.

“Our global team includes people working on culture platforms, comms, content, consumer insights and an in-house creative team. We often hold internal idea panels to get fresh thinking and spark unexpected connections.

“We also stay close to our markets. It’s inspiring to see how Jameson shows up in places like South Africa or Australia and we often build global toolkits from great local executions.”

As they come out of the restage project, Anna has been involved in the evolution of the Jameson brand identity, always keeping a close eye on how other iconic global brands, from Nike to Apple, use and leverage their visual brand identity.

“Discipline and consistency of use comes up time and time again in terms of how these brands build global recognition. They are so consistent in how their brand shows up across multiple markets.”

South African market

South Africa has been highlighted as a dynamic market and the brand has learned from launching innovation there. Anna says it has been a critical part of the Jameson success story and a great example of the power of consistent messaging over time.

“Interestingly, one of our most successful innovations, Black Barrel, was originally developed for South Africa nearly 20 years ago. Whiskey is seen as a premium, status-led category there and consumers were seeking something to rival other spirit competitors.

“It launched in 2011 and is now the fourth-largest Irish whiskey globally, a brilliant example of local insight sparking a global success.”

Sustainability

Sustainability it a part and parcel of all businesses now but some are more invested than others. Anna says that sustainability is embedded in their design process from the outset, and it’s not simply a bolt-on.
“Our approach is to adopt a circular mindset, which involves minimising waste. In terms of product design, we are guided by 5 Pernod Ricard principles across the packaging lifecycle – to rethink and explore new packaging solutions, reduce packaging where possible, reuse and move away from single use, and look to include materials that are responsibly sourced. Every new launch must now pass both a creative and sustainability brief.”
Do consumer behaviours influence the innovation pipeline at Jameson, especially in premium and experimental offerings?
“There’s always a temptation to keep launching new products, especially when exciting trends emerge. But for a global brand like Jameson, we have to strike a balance between being relevant and staying focused.
“We’re guided by consumer and retail trends, but these are always filtered through the lens of what feels right for the brand. That’s especially true for premium and experimental releases.
“We’ve seen strong growth in demand for premium products from heritage brands, trusted names that signal quality. There’s also growing interest in elevated, exploratory spirits, particularly among younger, more diverse drinkers.
“We look at global trends, emerging price points and profit pools to determine where to play. But ultimately, every innovation must feel like a natural extension of Jameson,” she states.

The future of whiskey innovation

After 20 years in the industry Anna is still excited about whiskey innovation, both at Jameson and in the broader industry.
“There have been so many different headwinds over the last few years, impacting consumer behaviours, from Covid to shifting consumer habits that you have to keep a close eye on and constantly adapt.”
However, she finds the deepening engagement with premium spirits exciting, especially among younger and more diverse audiences. “Consumers are increasingly seeking heritage brands they trust, particularly those offering high-quality products. And we’re seeing a renewed focus on moments of connection, people want to celebrate the everyday with friends and family.
“These trends reaffirm our belief in innovating purposefully, respecting brand DNA, and designing for real-life occasions.”
But the biggest opportunity? “Irish whiskey is still under-represented at the higher super-premium tier. And that’s where the category is seeing the most growth.”