MELBOURNE 22 April 2021 – Building on the remarkable success of its ecoSPIRITS technology since the Australian launch in early 2020, Proof & Company Australia has now forged a new partnership that will see leading wholesaler Australian Liquor Marketers offer sustainable spirits distribution to thousands of more hospitality venues nationwide.
Beginning 1 May, premium spirits in the ecoSPIRITS low carbon, low waste format will be available to ALM customers, starting with Melbourne and progressively rolling out nationwide over the course of the year.
“At ALM, we are the largest national liquor wholesaler supplying independently-owned liquor retailers and on-premise venues with the most extensive range of products in our portfolio, notes Anthony Rose, ALM On-Premise Category Manager, “Specialising in on premise, we know that sustainability and service are both important to our customers. For this reason, we are proud to announce our new partnership with Proof & Company Australia and ecoSPIRITS.”
Anthony Rose, On-Premise Category Manager, ALM
Under the new partnership, ALM’s warehousing and delivery teams have received specialised training and support to manage ecoSPIRITS’ patent-pending ecoTOTE format, ensuring seamless supply chain management, warehousing, tracking and fulfilment – all while eliminating more than 80% of the carbon footprint of spirits distribution.
ALM customers will now have access to a growing range of premium spirits in the ecoTOTE format, including one of Australia’s most highly awarded gins from Never Never Distilling Co. and the acclaimed Plantation Rum from Maison Ferrand.
“We have long been proud to have been one of the first spirits partners for ecoSPIRITS, developed by our good friends at Proof & Company,” notes Angelique Julienne, Marketing & Communications Director at Maison Ferrand, “We are convinced that meaningful ecological innovation like sustainable alternative packaging are the future of our industry when done with authenticity. In addition to our partnership with ecoSPIRITS, Maison Ferrand is continually working to do our part. At the West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados, we aim to be a net zero carbon footprint distillery by 2030.”
Angelique Julienne, Marketing & Communications Director, Maison Ferrand
The West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados
A source distillery for Plantation Rum, where Maison Ferrand is installing solar power as part of a push for net zero
In addition to Never Never Triple Juniper Gin and Plantation 3 Star, Original Dark and Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Rum, ALM will offer Tried & True Vodka, Arquitecto Tequila, Mackintosh Blended Malt Scotch Whisky and Widges Gin in ecoTOTE format from May. Additional spirits in ecoTOTE format will become available in the coming months.
Since its launch in Australia, ecoSPIRITS has been quickly adopted by more than 100 hospitality venues. Venues adopting the ecoSPIRITS technology reduce the cost of their spirits purchasing, eliminate 95% of the daily glass and cardboard waste from their spirits pours and save 150g of carbon emissions per serve. Bars have embraced well-made spirits in the sustainable format. As Huw Griffiths, owner of Union Electric in Melbourne notes, “Union Electric has always loved Plantation Pineapple, not just as one our favourite spirits but also for the story and care that goes into its production. ‘Stiggins Fancy’ teaming up with ecoSPIRITS is one more good reason to love Pineapple and a good example of an industry leader setting an example addressing issues of waste and sustainability.”
Huw Griffiths, Owner, Union Electric, Melbourne
The ecoSPIRITS closed loop system, which includes the ecoPLANT™, ecoTOTE™ and SmartPour™ technologies, is operated in Australia by Proof & Company, which has been an early champion of sustainable spirits. Venues joining the ecoSPIRITS network through ALM will have access to all ecoSPIRITS benefits, including the “One Tote, One Tree” reforestation commitment under the ecoSPIRITS Forest Program.
“End consumers are increasingly looking to reduce their impact on the planet,” says James ‘Dub Dub’ Wynn-Williams, National Sales Manager at Proof & Company, “It has been a great honour to introduce the ecoSPIRITS technology to the Australian hospitality industry over the past 12 months. Our partnership with ALM will simply help us work with more venues to reduce waste and the cost of their premium spirits. We couldn’t be more excited about the future for sustainable spirits in Australia.”
James ‘Dub Dub’ Wynn-Williams, National Sales Manager, Proof & Company Australia
ecoSPIRITS will be available via ALM from 1 May. For more information, please reach out to your local ALM or Proof & Company representative, or contact James Wynn-Williams
About ALM
Australian Liquor Marketers (ALM) is Australia and New Zealand’s leading broad range liquor wholesaler, supplying more than 14,500 hotels, liquor stores, restaurants and other licensed premises throughout Australia and New Zealand with all their liquor needs. ALM provides retailers with a one stop shop that allows them to receive all their liquor supplies “in one delivery; on one invoice; in full; on time; every time” together with strong marketing support and a wide variety of retail services. ALM provides a specialist on-premise liquor supply and marketing support division to the on-premise sector, including bars, restaurants and hotels, via Harbottle on-Premise (HOP) in Australia and Allied Liquor in New Zealand. ALM will continue to help grow and consolidate key brands in the marketplace, and continue to drive the success of the business with the strong support of Metcash Trading Ltd.
For more information on ALM, please visit almliquor.com
About ecoSPIRITS
ecoSPIRITS is the world’s first low-carbon, low-waste spirits distribution technology. Founding in Singapore in 2018, ecoSPIRITS has developed a patent-pending closed loop distribution system that nearly eliminates packaging waste in the premium spirits supply chain. By dramatically reducing packaging and transport costs, ecoSPIRITS provides both a powerful cost advantage and a transformative carbon footprint reduction. By partnering with ecoSPIRITS, spirit producers, distributors and hospitality operators can save costs and reduce the environmental impact of their operations. With each bottle eliminated, ecoSPIRITS saves at least 550 grams of carbon emissions. This means each cocktail or spirits pour through ecoSPIRITS saves 30 grams of emissions. The ecoSPIRITS Forest Program adds an additional 120g of carbon emissions savings per serve.
For more information on ecoSPIRITS, please visit ecospirits.global or follow ecospirits.global on Instagram.