Turkish rakı goes abroad

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Hürriyet photo

Global alcohol giant Diageo, which owns Turkey’s Mey İçki, is preparing to globally distribute its local alcoholic drink rakı brand Yeni Rakı in January 2012.

The company plans to increase revenues by three fold in two years, according to daily Hürriyet.

Diageo’s European President Andrew Morgan said with Yeni Rakı they will compete in a brand new arena. The aniseed-based rakı is a new segment for Diageo. They plan to launch Yeni Rakı in Germany followed by the U.S., Russia and Turkey’s neighboring countries, reported Hürriyet.

“By bringing Turkish rakı onto the stage we are going to beat Greek ouzo and French pastis,” Morgan said.

The company may, however, face tougher competition when it comes to distributing Mey İçki’s Kayra wines. Morgan said, “The only problem is that Turkey and wines don’t exactly go together. We could face difficulty in selling Turkish wines. At the moment we are weighing our options.”