Firm broadens world tastes

Dunns continues to grow beer range a year after acquisition

It’s more than a year since Scottish drinks wholesaler Dunns Food and Drinks snapped up specialist beer supplier Dameck Drinks Scotland.
Dameck was one of the first Scottish firms to specialise in supplying beers from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium to the Scottish trade, with a range including German beers such as Paulaner, Weihenstephan and Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen.

And since its August 2014 acquisition, the range has been extended to include Brooklyn Lager, Anchor Steam Beer, Quilmes, Samuel Adams and Einstök Icelandic Pale Ale.
“We have managed not only to grow our product portfolio, but have seen double digit company growth, said Dunns Food and Drinks MD Jim Rowan.
“This growth is across all sectors of our business.
“We have successfully integrated the Dameck business into our own business, however as carriers of over 1200 specialist beers we have a dedicated team who ensure that our offering is fresh.”
A number of the original Dameck team remain in place, said Rowan, and the division has been boosted further by a new beer buyer.

He claimed it enabled the firm to offer “a tailored beer selection” to customers based on their location, customer base and food offer.
“This means that our team are able to call on all sectors of our trade and give them something a little bit different,” said Rowan.
The company’s beer portfolio has grown by more than 300 products in the past year, and Rowan claimed the variety of different countries means the business is well positioned to make the most of different events.
“It means we get to celebrate events such as Octoberfest, fourth of July, Easter, etc,” said Rowan.
“All the brewers make up limited batches for sale. This keeps everyone on their toes and hungry for information.”
There is also a new emphasis on education for Dunns staff.
The business has recently introduced a ‘beer school’ to educate customer-facing staff about the company’s range.
Rowan said: “This has made a big difference to our staff because some of the beers are quite difficult to pronounce and some of the descriptions are not obvious to the untrained eye. We have come a long way in a year.”