RED Stripe plans to go head-to-head with J Wray & Nephew in the lucrative white overproof rum market.

The brewing giant will introduce its own product, D&G White Overproof Rum, to the local marketplace on July 1. It will mark the first time that Red Stripe will have its own white rum brand since the early 1990s, when the company was still trading as D&G (Desnoes & Geddes).

“D&G White Overproof Rum represents quality and value for our consumers and it will be the most affordable white rum on the market,” stated Red Stripe Head of Marketing Jomo Cato.

D&G White Overproof Rum will be available in 750 ml and 200 ml bottles, the company said.

Cato did not disclose the price point of the new product, but said Red Stripe would be aggressively pursuing a stake of the white rum market in year one and believes its competitive pricing will make that target possible.

“We think the white rum market offers a lot,” said Cato. “There are some huge potential that still exists in the market.”

Industry sources estimate the white overproof rum market to be valued at close to $2 billion. J Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum is said to control some 80 per cent of the market, with Charley’s JB Overproof Rum — which is said to be popular in Western Jamaica — a distant second with some 15 per cent. A few smaller players, such as Worthy Park Estate’s Rum Bar and KRB Lea’s Lion Pride, split the remaining five per cent, sources say.

Red Stripe’s aggressive move towards penetrating the white rum market is not an indication that its core product, beer, is losing popularity, Cato said.

“Not at all. We are very encouraged by some of the signs that we have seen in our beer market,” the marketing manager told the Jamaica Observer.

“We are going to continue to have beer being very much the prominent part of our business but we see opportunities in growing spirits,” he added.

D&G White Overproof Rum will be produced at Red Stripe’s new US$2.5-million spirits plant, from which it has been making a foray into the spirits market.

Red Stripe has been distributing and marketing Hampden Estate’s white rum product, Rum Fire, for just over a year. However, the launch of its own white rum line won’t affect Red Stripes exclusive distributorship arrangement with Hampden, said Cato.

“I feel it’s just complimenting what we have in the portfolio,” he said.

Red Stripe will launch D&G White Overproof Rum just two months after introducing a ‘$100-a-bottle’ beer, Talawah. As with Talawah, the company has dedicated the launch of its new white rum to Jamaica’s 50th anniversary.

“We see a great opportunity to offer white rum for our consumers that has great quality, provides great value for them, commemorates our 50th year of Independence and completes our portfolio as the best with the most options for consumers,” said Red Stripe managing director Renato Gonzalez.

Ironically, Red Stripe’s introduction of a white rum product comes just weeks after the company saw its lobbying efforts against what it described as a large tax advantage enjoyed by white rum against other alcoholic beverages, bore fruit. Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips, in his recent budget presentation, introduced new revenue measures which included a uniform rate of tax on alcoholic beverages.

The tax measure is expected to increase the cost of white rum by up to $30 per drink, industry insiders say.