The Belfast Distillery Company (BDC) is a new business venture based in Northern Ireland. The company, owned by a group of American investors, has acquired the rights to McConnell’s, a legendary Irish whiskey brand that disappeared during the Prohibition era, and is seeking to revive it. The company has raised nearly $30 million to build a state-of-the-art distillery and visitors center in Belfast, a former hub of Irish whiskey production during the Victorian era. The company’s CEO, John Kelly, a Belfast native and drinks industry veteran, is considering how to allocate his attention and resources as he seeks to scale the business.
The company has already achieved a successful launch in its home market of Northern Ireland. It now must decide whether to focus primarily on opportunities to grow its premium brand within Ireland or in overseas markets. Given the growing global popularity of Irish whiskey, foreign market opportunities abound. But should the company seek to penetrate the established markets in North America and Western Europe, or faster-growing emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa? Or perhaps instead it should prioritize growing its e-commerce business, duty-free business, whiskey tourism business, or wholesale whiskey distillate business.
This case is a useful tool for discussing global market entry and expansion in highly competitive markets. Using analytical tools, students are asked to assess BDC’s strategic position and the challenges and opportunities it faces. Students must prioritize BDC’s most promising markets on a global scale, before evaluating the macro and competitive landscape BDC faces in the United States—the single largest market for Irish whiskey—with specific emphasis on assessing which U.S. regions and states offer the best prospects. Students will ultimately advise an appropriate branding and marketing strategy for BDC, taking all preceding discussion points into account.