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New exports to France for Jawbox Gin

Food NI member Jawbox Gin has won its first business in France for its award-winning classic Belfast dry gin that includes among its botanical ingredients heather harvested from the slopes of the city’s Black Mountain.

The company, founded and managed by former publican Gerry White, has signed a distribution deal with CBH Drinks Marketing and Brand Development in Paris which will see its unique gin and its recently launched gin liqueurs on sale in hotels and bars in the French capital and other parts of the nation.

Jawbox is distilled in Co Down and has established itself as a  leading Irish small batch producer of premium gins.

Mr White, who founded Jawbox in 2016, the first gin to be developed in Belfast in more than century, commenting on the latest deal for the spirit, says: “We are thrilled to have CBH as our distribution partner in France. It’s a major international market that we’ve been targeting for some time and follows our most recent and highly successful launch in Sweden.

“We’ve been building our distribution network in Europe steadily over the past year and have a number of important agreements already in place to help accelerate the export sales of Jawbox and our new rhubarb and ginger and pineapple and ginger flavoured gins,” he adds.

CBH is market leader in France and is regarded as one of the best independent operators for launching super premium spirit brands and guaranteeing their marketing and sales development throughout France. The distribution business was established in 1997 to supply top hotels, restaurants and cocktail bars throughout France and Monaco.

Jawbox is planning an extensive programme of product samplings in Paris and other centres to support CBH.

The company has been developing business in the Britain and the Republic of Ireland successfully and is also now focused on export sales. The original Jawbox classic gin is already on sale in markets as diverse as Portugal and Australia.

A major drive is planned for Europe especially in France and the Netherlands and in the US, where the company aims to launch early this year. New bottles are being developed in line with US requirements.