Press Promotion

Glencairn celebrates its most profitable year

Glencairn Crystal is celebrating its most profitable year on record with unprecedented international growth across both packaging and glassware sectors.

The family run business, renowned for the creation of the much-loved Glencairn whisky glass, is celebrating success, despite a global contraction in the crystal market – demonstrating the importance of getting business formula and customer base right.

The company has reported a 10% increase in sales, most notably coming from international expansion that has risen by 14% over the past year – making international sales larger than those in the UK for the first time in Glencairn’s history. Of this international expansion, Asia has proven the largest increase market, up by 74%.

This uplift means that turnover has also grown from £7.8 million in 2015, to £8.6 million in 2016 – showcasing the business’s drive and passion for continued global presence.

Of this growth, 52% of sales volume in the last year has been through direct international sales with drinks businesses looking to create bespoke packaging and glassware for their brands. Having always been ahead of the curve on spirits packaging trends, Glencairn has continued to identify opportunities with emerging brands and be part of their growing and evolving teams. The craft spirit sector is a great example of this - over 300 craft distilleries are now Glencairn clients including Balcones and Ironroot in Texas and Hudson in New York.

This, combined with a number of established medium and large-scale clients, has helped to make the company what it is today – including a recent large contract with Brown Forman in the USA, Tomatin, Glemorangie and Stolichnaya Group.

Scott Davidson, director at Glencairn says: “We have worked tirelessly as a family owned company to ensure that we offer extraordinary customer service and innovation at every stage of our business. We are proud of what Glencairn has achieved – particularly on a global scale.”

“Our success internationally stems from our focus on relationship building and truly understanding our clients demands and needs, across spirit sectors and markets. We are fully focused on building this area of sales to ensure that Glencairn is synonymous with the world’s leading spirits brands, packaging and drinking experiences.”  

The company’s defining product within the consumer whisky market – the Glencairn Glass – has also continued to be a success story, with over three million sales worldwide: a 22% increase in sales value the previous year.

Created in 2001, the Glencairn Glass has seen a year on year global sales increase. Often referred to as the official tasting glass, the company sells over three million glasses annually to hundreds of brands, distributed to over 65 countries.

In April, Glencairn received its third Queen’s Award for International Enterprise.

20 June 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor