SOUTH AFRICA: FIERY LIQUOR AT THE CENTRE OF STORM OVER TRADEMARK & COPYRIGHT AS SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANY TRIES TO MUSCLE IN ON MEXICAN TEQUILA MARKET

Record ID: 838234

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FIERY LIQUOR AT THE CENTRE OF STORM OVER TRADEMARK & COPYRIGHT AS SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANY TRIES TO MUSCLE IN ON MEXICAN TEQUILA MARKET
  • Date: 4th February 2004
  • Summary: (L!3)GRAAF RENIET, SOUTH AFRICA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS PEOPLE AT BAR DRINKING AGAVA VARIOUS AGAVA DISTILLERY (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROY MCLACHLAN, COMPANY DIRECTOR, SAYING: "We might not call it Tequila, and we don't intend to call it Tequila. But we intend to brand a product that is made from the Agave plant, which every discerning Tequila drinker knows." AGAVE PLA
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: GRAAF RENIET, SOUTH AFRICA
  • City:
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAD3BEERVHAATS5I525KA6LU4OA
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: A fiery liquor is at the centre of a storm over trademark and copyright issues as a South African company tries to muscle in on the tightly-controlled Mexican tequila market.
    Tequila has been brewed in Mexico from the Blue Agave plant for nearly 500 years. It is a six-billion dollar industry and a symbol of Mexican national pride.
    But today another spirit brewed on the other side of the Atlantic, in South Africa, may soon contest its Mexican rival.
    Near the town of Graaf Reniet, deep in the country's central semi-desert, a local distillery is producing a spirit that its owners hope will challenge Mexico's monopoly on Tequila.
    Adding insult to injury, the South African producers say their product tastes even better than its Mexican counterpart.
    The company is calling its spirit Agava, after the plant it is made from.
    "We might not call it Tequila, and we don't intend to call it Tequila. But we intend to brand a product that is made from the Agave plant, which every discerning Tequila drinker knows," said Roy McLachlan, company director.
    A plentiful supply of Blue Agave plants has existed around Graaff Reinet for as long as anyone can remember.
    First introduced by a passing visitor, the exotic succulents were originally used to create impenetrable fences and provide fodder for a variety of local livestock.
    Now the plants are being harvested, their outer leaves stripped off and the heart, which is rich in sugar, is used to create the liquor.
    The hearts are pulped, boiled and pressed to extract the juice which is used in the distilling process.
    Roy and Keith McLachlan acquired Agave Distillers after the initial owners went broke without producing a single shot of the spirit.
    Their big break came after a fungus plague began decimating Mexico's Blue Agave plants, resulting in a worldwide shortage of Tequila.
    "It created a window of opportunity during which time the prices escalated. And the demand for the product became ever increasing. This opportunity we have chosen to take advantage of in developing an alternative to a spirit that is manufactured from Agave," said Roy McLachlan.
    Their products, Agave Silver and Agave Gold, are hitting shelves around the world and after just three years of production their plant is running at 1,200 litres of the spirit a day.
    Plans are underway to increase this level to 10,000 litres daily. A huge amount, but it would only quench about two per cent of the world's Tequila demand.
    With Australia and Europe already large buyers, the company is now eyeing an even bigger market.
    "We're focusing mainly on America because that's the biggest market. And that is where the biggest demand is.
    The market size is typically six billion dollars internationally for tequilaof which America consumes 80%,"
    said Keith McLachlan, company executive manager.
    Mexican trade officials called on the European Union and authorities in the US to block imports from South Africa.
    But the South African company recently won a license to market its product in the U.S. under the name Agave, and is not planning to back down.
    "The Mexicans have a national product to protect. And it's understandable that they would criticize the quality of the product. We are not too concerned about that.
    Because the flavours that are achieved are subjective. We believe that if people enjoy our drink it should compete,"
    said Roy McLachlan.
    Mexican ambassador said the South African spirit could affect sales of Tequila, but argued that knowledgeable Tequila drinkers would stick to the Mexican original.
    "Let me tell you, I have been in quite a few places, few bars and restaurants here around South Africa and some other countries and when I go and I say that I want a glass of tequila. They always bring to me the Mexican products,"
    said Mauricio de Maria y Campos, Mexican ambassador to South Africa.
    The company has embarked on a large-scale planting scheme in the area and as plants take up to seven years to mature, that's a serious investment in the future. But the owners are determined they should proceed with caution.
    "We've got to go slowly, get the product in, do it properly. Make sure we 're keeping our customers happy.
    Never run out of a product, because that's the worst thing you can do. Because then they just lose interest if you cannot have a continuous supply. That's exactly what's happened with the Mexicans in America. They're struggling to keep the demand and as a result the actual distributors are quite annoyed," said Keith McLachlan.
    With Mexico still struggling to get back to full production, a favourable reaction from Tequila fans could turn this little South African town into a major production centre of a Mexican national icon.
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