Edinburgh-based Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC), owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), Single Cask Nation (SCN) & J.G. Thomson, has announced an update on its expansion into new markets in India and Brazil.
“… the company is pleased to confirm that the India franchise has now been signed with PNM Tech Beverages,” said Artisanal.
“Subject to label registration being completed over the coming months, we expect to dispatch ASC’s first shipment of product to India in the coming months.
“This demonstrates further progress in support of the group’s international growth strategy, expansion into new markets and builds on SMWS’ recent launch in Vietnam earlier this year.
“It marks another milestone in the group’s strategic expansion in Asia, complementing the more recent 2023 franchise launches in Korea and subsidiary in Taiwan respectively, alongside the longer established China and Japan subsidiaries.
“India is the largest global Scotch Whisky market by volume.
“Whilst entry into the market is expected to deliver marginal returns initially, we believe the long-term opportunity from brand presence and strategy execution, alongside our experienced and well-connected franchise partner, is an important area of future growth for the business as the Indian whisky market further develops.”
Artisanal added that its Single Cask Nation (SCN) business is successfully expanding into new markets.
“SCN commenced exports to Brazil for the first time in Q3-25, building on the addition of Denmark in H2-24.
“Brazil is the world’s 15th largest market for Ultra-Premium Whisky and is demonstrating a growing appeal, with sales having more than doubled in the last five years, now representing a $158m Ultra-Premium whisky market (of which 94% is Scotch).”
Artisanal CEO Andrew Dane said: “We are continuing to build the SMWS business for the medium to longer term, growing our global presence with entry into exciting new markets such as India, as well as developing new opportunities for SCN, as we expand our whisky fan club globally.
“The Indian market, in particular, presents exciting potential for the Group over the medium to longer term and we are delighted to welcome our new franchise partners, PNM Tech Beverages, to the wider SMWS family.
“We remain confident that the actions we are taking stand us in good stead to continue to deliver future growth.”