Johnny Harte, Chair of Drinks Ireland Irish Cream working group and co-Founder of Five Farms Irish Cream, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and Aengus King, Director of Drinks Ireland | Spirits
Photo: Coalesce
By Suzanne Pender
THE minister for agriculture Charlie McConalogue has joined Drinks Ireland | Spirits and its members, including Walsh Whiskey from Carlow, to launch a new international campaign called #ExploreIrishCream.
The campaign aims to address the growing threat of imitator Irish cream liqueur products and promote the category in key international markets as global sales soar.
Ibec trade association Drinks Ireland | Spirits has also published a new report that will be distributed among producing members, customers, the international supply chain and key stakeholders in order to help achieve this.
The report outlines the international trade protections that safeguard Irish cream liqueur, including a geographic indication (GI) across the EU, Britain and international markets where free trade agreements are in place.
The GI status means that Irish cream liqueur must be produced on the island of Ireland, with a specific production process and approved ingredients, including Irish whiskey and fresh Irish dairy cream.
Despite these protections, there are a number of non-Irish cream products in the marketplace that aim to imitate authentic Irish cream liqueur. Deceptive marketing and misleading labelling is commonly used by imitators and non-Irish producers to mislead the consumer into thinking that their product is genuine Irish cream liqueur, or of Irish origin. This can include the use of symbols such as shamrocks, Irish harps and Celtic crosses.
This comes as sales of Irish cream liqueur grow at home and abroad. In 2021, sales outstripped those of 2019, standing just shy of breaking the ten-million cases barrier for the first time.
Bernard Walsh, founder of Walsh Whiskey in Carlow, which makes The Irishman Irish Cream Liqueur, said: “We are at a pivotal moment for Irish cream liqueur, as sales continue to grow globally, with particular success in markets such as the UK, North America and Germany. We’re proud to support 15 jobs in Carlow, exporting to over 50 markets. With this growth, though, comes threats in the form of imitation products. The ambition of this campaign and report, which we’re delighted to be part of, is to empower producers, wholesalers, distributors and others to document and report potentially fake products.”
