Starward moves beyond past supply issues

Starward Whisky is looking to the future with a new CEO, a new layout at its distillery and a focus on making sure it will consistently meet the growing demand for its whisky.

Former Global CMO at Treasury Wine Estates, Simon Marton, has joined the company as the new CEO and he told Bars and Clubs he is excited about the future for the brand.

“I really want to make sure that everyone knows we are back in stock with our whisky. The past demand issues are behind us, we have a great partner in SouthTrade and we are excited about the coming years for Starward,” he said.

“We are upgrading the Port Melbourne distillery with a new floor layout which means we will be able to significantly expand production capacity in early 2020, and we will also have a new visitor experience centre.”

Marton has joined Starward from TWE, where he helped the company establish its foot print in the United States in particular and that experience will be invaluable to Starward.

“Australian spirits is very much where Australian wine was 10-15 years ago, and I’m excited about the opportunity to propel Starward to be the first globally famous Australian Whisky brand, especially at such a pivotal time when the Australian spirits category is going from strength to strength both in the domestic and international markets.

“The US is essentially 50 individual markets rather than one large market so we need to focus on key areas and drive our growth from there.”

The launch of Two-Fold has been huge for the brand and will be at the forefront of Starward’s domestic and international expansion.

Over the last year Starward has expanded globally, launching in the UK, USA, France, and Japan and the appointment of Marton, expansion plans and further market expansion will fuel the distillery’s next phase of growth.

Founder David Vitalie is now based in the US and he told Bars and Clubs he was excited about what Marton will bring to Starward.

“Simon’s experience with Treasury and growing that company in the United States and other markets will be invaluable to Starward.

“Australian spirits has a similar story to Australian wine and its expansion in the US. Simon has experience in building brands and will be able to navigate Starward through this ambitious growth phase.

“We’re all looking forward to working with Simon to pursue Starward’s potential in Australia and abroad. We have every reason to believe that our Starward bound ambition is in the right hands.”

He added: “It’s hard to believe it was just three years ago we completed our monumental upgrade from Essendon Fields to Port Melbourne,” Vitalie said.

“Now, we are once again taking a huge leap to meet the rapidly growing, local and global, demand for our whiskies – particularly Two-Fold which has exceeded all of our sales expectations in our first year, winning Best Australian Blended at the World Whiskies Awards in London and 92 points from Wine Enthusiast and Whisky Cast in the US.”

The expansion is being funded by a multi-million dollar investment, which Vitalie told Bars and Clubs was coming from the distillery’s existing investors.