Diageo Korea goes after highball market with Johnnie Walker and Bell's

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Diageo Korea will expand its presence in the highball market with the world's No. 1 Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker and the U.K.'s national whisky Bell's, the company said Wednesday.

Due to the anti-Japan sentiment stemming from the recent trade dispute between Seoul and Tokyo, more and more Korean consumers are looking for Scotch whisky highballs instead of ones made with Japanese whisky.

“Highballs originated in golf club bars in Scotland as golfers began to mix whisky with soda so that they could play golf without getting drunk,” a Diageo Korea official said.

In its latest effort to promote whisky highballs, Diageo Korea has been going after large pubs and franchise bars.

In April, it started sales of Johnnie Walker Red Label-based highball in 40 outlets of “Miss You,” a gallery-style bar franchise.

Diageo is selling its Johnnie Walker highball in many other beer bar franchises including “Tudari,” which has 1,500 venues nationwide, “Cheers,” and “New York Night Market.”

The Johnnie Walker Red Label is mostly used as a cocktail base, and such franchises account for 21 percent of Johnnie Walker Red's sales in the On Trade channel.

The whisky giant is also making all-out efforts to appeal to the Off Trade consumers as well.

The U.K.'s national whisky brand Bell's is also gaining popularity here. It is sold at Bonggu Beer, Korea's first small beer bar franchise. The Bell's-based highball, dubbed “Bonggu Highball,” is catching on among consumers.

Franchise bars account for 63 percent of the On Trade sales of Bell's, a whisky beloved by young consumers. Bell's has also been the best-selling whisky in the Off Trade channel from June 2017 to May 2019.

“We hope more consumers find out how attractive the original highball made with Scotch whisky is,” the official said.