International distribution opportunities unlocked for Great Southern at Singapore food and beverage expo

Four businesses with roots in the Great Southern were on show on the international stage last week as part of the WA Government’s display at Asia’s premier trade exhibition.

Boston Brewing Co, Great Southern Distilling Co, Alba Edible Oils and Australian Mineral Fertilisers were represented at the four-day Food and Hotel Asia — Food and Beverage Singapore Expo.

They were among 25 agrifood businesses chosen by the State Government to be part of the display, while an additional 40 WA businesses exhibited elsewhere in the exhibition’s Australian pavilion.

Boston Brewing Co general manager Glen Daniel said the company’s products would soon be available in Singapore after a distributor was locked in during the trip.

“We had a lot of interest, made a lot of contacts and there was a lot of customers asking if we were stocked in Singapore currently,” he said.

“We went and met the owners of different venues afterwards who are keen to stock us as well and they already work with the distributor we’re putting in place.

“We’re looking forward to our return, getting all our stock aligned and setting a date for our return to launch Boston in Singapore.”

Great Southern Distilling Co senior marketer Toni Carlino represented the company at the exhibition.

She said her aim objective going over was to look for distributors to partner with in the Asian regions.

“We definitely came away with quite a few opportunities to follow up,” she said.

“I had Giniversity and Limeburners over there, while Giniversity attracted very favourable responses, it was Limeburners that attracted the most interest.

“That’s largely because traditionally Scotch whisky and Japanese whisky are very strong in the Singapore market, but there isn’t a lot of Australian whisky around.

“I think because of that there was a lot of interest and really, really good feedback.”

The WA Government supported the delegation by coordinating networking opportunities before and after the exhibition.

Mr Daniel said Albany-based Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development senior project officer Nikki Poulish had been a “fantastic facilitator”.

Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the exhibition was a great opportunity to expose new buyers to WA products.

“Provenance is a crucial component of the premium food and beverage market, and events like Food and Hotel Asia enable WA businesses to tell their story and talk directly with in-market players,” she said.

“It is great so many WA businesses are participating in this important event, as well as the range of representation from across our primary industries who are working hard to put their product and our State on the international stage.

“The food and beverage industry and supply chains have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and our Government has been working closely with the industry stakeholders to overcome this impact to rebuild, reconnect and re-establish trade relations.”

Mr Daniel said representing the Great Southern was an important aspect of his company’s story.

“Our main unique selling point has been about the branding and how Boston relates to the Great Southern,” he said.

“Our can art shows the map of Australia, where we’re located and the story behind each of our products is linked to a QR code that gives a rundown of not just the beer, but also the artwork and where it comes from.

“It highlights places like Elephant Rocks, Walpole and the tingle tree for the ginger beer, Devilslide and the Porongorups — so we definitely hope it will make more people take an interest in the region and hopefully boost tourism as well. ”

Ms Carlino agreed that being able to represent the region at a major international exhibition helped build awareness of the Great Southern.

“I’ve come from 20 years working in the wine industry and we all know Margaret River as a brand has really good awareness,” she said.

“To have producers from the Great Southern together to talk about the region can only be a good thing.”