ecoSPIRITS, La Maison du Whisky & Brand Partners Launch Sustainable Pouring Program in France
PARIS 9 August 2022 Joining forces with a group of leading independent spirits producers, ecoSPIRITS France and La Maison du Whisky have launched a Sustainable Pouring Program to take on the single largest source of spirits-related glass waste in bars, restaurants and hotels in France: house pour spirits. This ground-breaking new program will be offered first in the Greater Paris region, starting in August 2022. The program is open to on-premise venue partners seeking to dramatically reduce their environmental footprint, while pouring premium independent spirits at affordable pricing. Participating venues will be able to partner with a selection of award-winning producers curated by the renowned team at La Maison du Whisky, and now available in low waste ecoTOTE™ format.
The Sustainable Pouring Program Lineup
House pour – or first pour – supply contracts are the cornerstone of the spirits industry, covering the majority of spirits volumes consumed in bars, restaurants and hotels and extending across most major spirits categories. House pour contracts are famous for both their incentives and their complexity, locking venues into long-term commitments in return for favourable pricing. With more than 15,000 on-premise venues operating in the Paris region alone, the house pour segment of the on-premise spirits industry generates a startling volume of single use glass waste. The well-known challenges associated with house pour supply contracts, including complexity of terms, stringent long-term commitments and the reductive nature of a cost-per-shot metric, can also make them unpopular with venues.
The Sustainable Pouring Program Benefits
The new Sustainable Pouring Program offers exceptional quality spirits across nearly all major spirits categories on simplified commercial terms. Each pouring spirit is made available at remarkably affordable pricing, due to the cost savings associated with the patent-pending ecoSPIRITS circular packaging system. Participating venues will be able to serve some of their favourite independent spirits, while eliminating nearly all packaging waste from their house pour supply chain, and dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of their beverage operations.
The Sustainable Pouring Program Benefits
The new Sustainable Pouring Program offers exceptional quality spirits across nearly all major spirits categories with on simplified commercial terms. Each pouring spirit is made available at remarkably affordable pricing, due to the cost savings associated with the patent-pending ecoSPIRITS circular packaging system. Participating venues will be able to serve some of their favourite independent spirits, while eliminating nearly all packaging waste from their house pour supply chain, and dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of their beverage operations.
Curated by the team at La Maison du Whisky, the Sustainable Pouring Program launches with a selection of vodka, gin, rum, cachaça, agave spirit, Scotch whisky and aperitivo options, and will expand over time into other spirit categories. As part of the program launch, award-winning producers Gruppo Montenegro, Compass Box Scotch Whisky, and Abelha Organic Cachaça have joined the ecoSPIRITS Climate Partner Program and will be available in circular packaging format for the first time. Venues participating in the Sustainable Pouring Program will receive additional support from ecoSPIRITS to assist them in tracking the positive environmental impact of their house pours, and promoting their sustainability initiatives to guests. In the first year, the program will be open to a range of hospitality operators in the Paris region. Experimental Group, which partnered with ecoSPIRITS France earlier this year, will be one of the first venue partners to join.
“La Maison du Whisky is delighted to strengthen our offering for the French on-premise market with the new Sustainable Pouring Program in partnership with ecoSPIRITS and some of our most valued brand partners. Leveraging the cost savings generated by the ecoSPIRITS closed loop system, we are able to offer our venue partners a simple, no-fuss pouring solution with an extraordinary commercial and environmental proposition.”
“At Compass Box, we are committed to a more environmentally focused future. We are therefore excited to be collaborating with La Maison du Whisky on the important ecoSPIRITS initiative with Glasgow Blend and look forward to seeing it served in some of Paris’ finest bars.”
“At Gruppo Montenegro we are extremely pleased to incorporate Select Aperitivo into the ecoSPIRITS Project. As the 2nd largest apéritif market globally, and as long-term partners of LMDW, France is the strategic choice to begin our collaboration and broaden our commitment to sustainability initiatives. We look forward to building on our success as one of the fastest growing apéritif brands, and driving a new competitive approach by offering a premium sustainable spritz experience to our existing and new customer base.”
“We’re excited to partner with ecoSPIRITS in France. Reducing single-use glass has been a long term objective of our distillery & by offering Abelha Organic Cachaça in this unique ecoSPIRITS container, we aim to further reduce our carbon footprint whilst continuing to increase awareness of artisanal cachaça – long live the sustainable Caipirinha!”
The Sustainable Pouring Program will welcome the first participating venues in August 2022. Expanding over the remainder of the year, it is expected to eliminate more than 10 tonnes of single use glass waste in the first 12 months. Bars, restaurants and hotels in the Paris region interested in learning more about the Sustainable Pouring Program may contact La Maison du Whisky via [email protected]. Brands interested to learn more about joining ecoSPIRITS in France may contact [email protected].
About LMDW
Founded in 1956 by Georges Bénitah, La Maison du Whisky has long been a market leader in fine spirits. With more than 200 employees, LMDW’s expertise spans spirits import and distribution, rare spirits collection, sourcing and discovery, events management and publishing. Their Whisky Live is the world’s premier whisky show, hosted each year in Paris and in other cities around the world. These broad capabilities will strengthen the ecoSPIRITS France platform and help drive scale in circular spirits in one of the world’s largest spirits markets.
For more information, please visit https://www.lmdw.com/
About ecoSPIRITS
ecoSPIRITS is a circular economy technology company that has developed the world’s first low carbon, low waste distribution technology for premium spirits and wine. Our patent-pending closed loop system nearly eliminates all packaging waste in the supply chain. By dramatically reducing packaging and transport, ecoSPIRITS provides both a powerful cost advantage and a transformative carbon footprint reduction. Founded in Singapore in 2018, the ecoSPIRITS technology is now available in 11 countries and 30 cities across Asia Pacific. Europe and the Americas. More 1,000 leading bars, restaurants and hotels have adopted the technology, including Michelin-starred restaurants, World’s 50 Best and Asia’s 50 Best bars and iconic hotels. ecoSPIRITS is now rapidly building a global network of closed loop service, with coverage in 18 countries worldwide by late 2022.
Together with our brand partners, importers, distributors, wholesalers and venues, we are already making a difference. Each year, ecoSPIRITS and our partners are eliminating hundreds of tons of single use glass waste, planting tens of thousands of trees, and inspiring others to change.
For more information, please visit www.ecospirits.global