Dear friends and colleagues,
As much as we share in your excitement and anticipation about post-Covid re-opening, we would be remiss not to give you all some critical shipping updates, so you can properly plan your summer cocktail menus, back bars, and retail planograms.
For the purpose of this email, we will outline some of the specifics affecting our products, and to inform you of some of the serious supply chain logistics creating general disruption for all companies importing consumer goods, liquor or not, across the globe.
We will share some important resources and links at the bottom of this letter which hopefully will explain why Canada, in particular, is so uniquely affected by this crisis.
SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES – A GLOBAL OVERVIEW
- Supply chain bottlenecks are driving up rates, worldwide, and there is no relief on the horizon.
- The average price for a 40 foot container quadrupled in July.
- “Global trade right now is the hottest restaurant in town… Everyone’s trying to grab any spot they can [on a vessel] but they’re all spoken for.” – Brian Bourke, Seko Logistics
- The Suez Canal blockage and several other bottlenecks in ports like California and China have tied ships up for weeks at a time with massive ripple effects stemming from each delay.
- Historical context: California Container Ship Late Arrival Statistics
- Between 2012-2020 there were 1535 late arrivals
- In the Last six months there have been 695 late arrivals
- “Containers are sitting on the water for much longer periods of time, containers are waiting at ports for much longer. Productivity in container shipping is deteriorating. Every failure is effectively creating ripple effects. It’s a vicious cycle.” – Philip Damas, Drewry World Container Index
- It most likely will get worse before it gets better
HOW THIS AFFECTS OUR BRANDS
Mezcal
There are a total of 2000 cases of Siete Misterios and Koch Mezcal that are waiting to be picked up at a warehouse in Mexico right now. Unfortunately, we have no information yet on when the forwarder is scheduled to pick it up. That means this delay could last several months.
Regrettably, we will temporarily sell out of Siete Misterios Doba-Yej and Mezcal Koch Espadin at a wholesale level in about a week’s time. The exception to this will be Ontario, which will indeed continue to stay stocked up.
We strongly urge everyone to start loading up on these SKUs where you can at the retail level.
To Be Considered:
One final note on mezcal is that we are starting to see some fraudulent mezcal bottlings showing up in government liquor stores in Canada. Unfortunately, just because a bottle says the word ‘mezcal’ on it, doesn’t mean it is actually mezcal. Sometimes, it may not even be 100% agave. Make sure whatever you end up buying, that you check for a CRM hologram on the bottle. That hologram is proof that it has been lab-tested and is indeed mezcal.
Sotol/Tequila
We’re happy to tell you more is on its way. Alongside Tequila Fortaleza will be some more Tequila Ocho Blanco which is a BC Liquor exclusive (for now), and a few new extensions of sotol from Flor del Desierto.
Fingers crossed we see this before the end of summer (think early September as a realistic timeline).
NEW BRANDS COMING
Pisco
We are proud to soon introduce Barsol Pisco into the Canadian market.
This will indeed replace Campo de Encanto in our portfolio and will be the only D.O. compliant Peruvian Pisco available in all of Canada.
Because Barsol owns the distillery itself, we are quite confident things will remain steady on the manufacturing side. On the shipping side, challenges akin to what is happening globally still remain. Peru to Canada is not a common shipping route, and this current crisis has already delayed the Canadian launch of Barsol by 3 months.
Although we are hopeful to have the first SKUs available by the beginning of August (Barsol Quebranta will be going into BC Liquor Stores), we’d be hesitant here to make too many promises either.
Rum
Worthy Park & Foursquare Distribution across Canada, on its way!
We have been receiving some questions about some of our Caribbean rums and when they may be back in stock. We assure you, more Worthy Park is coming, (and Foursquare isn’t that far behind). That being said, we are still predicting the end of August/early September for both of those brands.
What we do know is that the Atlantic, specifically the Caribbean, seems to be in better shape than our spirits coming from the Pacific, and in the coming months, we will have at least some better clarity on the shipping situation of some of these containers.
CONTACT US FOR MORE DETAILS
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us at any time, we’re here for you all. Our regional Portfolio Specialists are eager to chat with you!
HELPFUL ARTICLES:
Some helpful articles about shipping issues across the globe.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-supply-chain-issues-no-074500762.html
