Bord Bia and the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) have launched a €3m three-year EU co-funded campaign to promote Irish whiskey GI and European Geographical Indication (GI) spirits in Japan and India.
The Spirits of Europe – GI campaign, which will commence in 2027, will promote European GI spirits, with a particular focus on Irish whiskey.
It marks the first EU co-funded promotion campaign to feature Irish spirits, with €2.4m in EU support secured at an 80% co-funding rate and €600,000 in matching industry funding.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of Irish whiskey GI and the diversity of the category among buyers, distributors, wholesalers, bartenders and on-trade decision makers in Japan and India.
Funding will support dedicated sector specialists in both markets, working directly with trade, alongside participation in trade shows and targeted trade media activity.
The Irish whiskey GI application was submitted under the third-country, all-markets category, which received 97 applications, of which just 25 were approved for funding.
Exports
Irish whiskey exports were worth €930m in 2025, accounting for 43% of Ireland’s total drinks exports.
While the US, EU and UK remain its largest export markets by value, Irish whiskey distillers have increasingly focused on market diversification in recent years, increasing the importance of emerging markets such as India and Japan.
Markets
According to data insights company IWSR, India is Irish whiskey’s second-largest market by volume, with sales growing more than twelve-fold over the past five years, despite a 150% tariff on the industry's exports to India.
The recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement is expected to enter into force next year. It will immediately halve the tariff before reducing it to 40% over the following seven years. These reductions will be key to growing Irish whiskey sales in the world’s largest whiskey market, Bord Bia said.
The Japanese market has been a similar success story for Irish whiskey, with sales volumes growing by 305% since 2020, according to IWSR. Japan has a long history of whiskey distilling, but its market has also sought out offerings from other established whiskey-producing nations in recent years.
Key sector
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon welcomed the investment in a key sector for Irish agri-food exports.
“Irish whiskey is one of our great agri-food success stories, and the successful EU co-funding promotional campaign shows how strongly it competes on the world stage. This Government is committed to helping them diversify into new markets.
“With the EU-India Free Trade Agreement set to cut tariffs sharply for Irish spirits and demand for our drinks offering growing in Japan every year, this campaign could not come at a better time.”
Jim O’Toole, CEO of Bord Bia, said the campaign marks an important milestone for Irish whiskey and its long-term growth.
"Japan and India offer significant opportunities to build awareness of and develop the category in new markets. Securing EU support in a highly competitive funding round reflects the strength of this initiative. It will help the industry build on the progress already made in these two strategically important markets.”
Eoin Ó Catháin, director of the Irish Whiskey Association, said: “Irish whiskey is the cornerstone of Irish drinks exports, with 95% of the Irish whiskey we distil exported around the world. As the position of Irish whiskey strengthens in key emerging markets, we are one of the only spirits categories to see our global market share increase.
"Key to that success in future will be our growth in markets such as India and Japan, and I am delighted our distillers have received this vote of confidence as they seek to diversify their markets. This is truly a new dawn for Irish whiskey," he said.
