Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Beverage Exports: Discussion with Drinks Industry Group of Ireland

1:45 pm

Mr. Peter O'Brien:

Let us consider two brands, Guinness and Baileys, which one might believe have been around forever. The latter's four flavours - chocolate, caramel, hazelnut and biscotti in addition to its original flavour - were developed in Ireland and represent more than 20% of total Baileys global exports. Guinness Mid-Strength, one of the great innovations in terms of having a lower alcohol by volume, ABV, level, is growing in Ireland and overseas. Another product is Guinness Black Lager. Guinness has been Guinness for 250 years, but our black lager has considerable export sales in the US. These are just three examples of innovation by a strong domestic company at St. James's Gate.