Rhum Barbancourt is an outdated model with an extended historical past. Based in 1862 by Dupre Barbancourt, it stays inside the household, and continues to be tied to the island.
The model has a singular historical past, being each a favorite of the novelist Graham Greene, who was seen ingesting it there regularly through the time of the Papa Doc dictatorship, and being utilized in voodoo, an area faith practised by Toussaint Louverture, chief of the Haitian Revolution, himself.
Now, it’s increasing to a special island: the UK. “Spirit Cartel’s portfolio of manufacturers match with the premium imaginative and prescient we’ve got for Rhum Barbancourt,” Delphine Gardere, Rhum Barbancourt’s CEO, informed FoodNavigator.
“They’ve the data of the UK market throughout completely different channels and function overlaying key geographical areas. Spirit Cartel can be very targeted on model constructing which aligns with our mission of showcasing Haitian excellence and craftsmanship. By our distribution partnership, all of Rhum Barbancourt’s award-winning expressions will likely be accessible in the UK.”
The drink, Gadere informed us, continues to be in style with modern-day Haitians, and its principal market is in Haiti. Nonetheless, the model is increasing abroad, and the UK just isn’t its solely market exterior to Haiti. “Rhum Barbancourt is definitely distributed in 28 international locations world wide, with america being our second largest market,” Gadere informed us. “The model has at all times been fairly in style in Europe. In 2022, following a whole improve of our packaging we re-launched the model in key markets corresponding to Italy and France to nice success.”
Nonetheless, the model is tied to Haiti’s historical past, having been a rum producer there for greater than half of its existence as a state. And the drink continues to be made there. “The model,” Gardere informed us “is embedded within the historical past of Haiti, and every technology works to advance it for the following one.”
Going through shocks
Since its founding, Rhum Barbancourt has confronted an array of challenges. For instance, Haiti’s 2010 earthquake put manufacturing again considerably.
“The earthquake occurred in 2010,” Gadere informed us, “and it was certainly certainly one of our most difficult instances, dropping fairly a little bit of inventory and having to place large efforts in rebuilding and reinforcing our buildings.”
Now, the model faces new challenges, as political instability worsens in lots of areas of the nation. Rhum Barbancourt, nonetheless, nonetheless operates there. “Our rum is constituted of sugar cane juice and the sugar cane is domestically harvested.
“It may be very troublesome, however we offer as a lot assist as doable to our suppliers. We work primarily with native cooperatives that in flip work with native farmers. We attempt as a lot as doable to encourage farmers to construct sustainable enterprise fashions.”
Regardless of these shocks, the rum continues to be made in Haiti, because it has been for the reason that firm’s founding.
