Lotte, Shinsegae to enter whiskey business and building distilleries in Jeju Island

Lotte and Shinsegae are two of the leading companies and South Korea. They have been rivals in the retail business field for decades, and now they are set to compete in another industry as both have jumped into the whiskey business.

For this new trade being added to their portfolio, Lotte and Shinsegae are also constructing their distilleries to make their own whiskey brand. It was said that the companies have jumped into this line of business as the rise in whiskey drinking has created a huge demand for the said alcoholic beverage.

The new distilleries are set to be built on Jeju Island, which is the best location since it is known to have the best water quality in the country. Lotte's beverage unit, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, revealed on Friday, July 15, that it had received approval from Jeju Island's officials to convert its former tangerine farm into a whiskey distillery.

"After getting advice from experts, we picked Jeju Island because its natural environment, clean water, and temperature are optimal conditions for whisky production," The Korea Herald quoted an official of Lotte Chilsung Beverage as saying regarding its choice of location. "But even if we complete building the distillery, it might take some time to launch Lotte's whiskey brand since the whisky must be matured for several years."

The Lotte official went on to say that the firm is planning to start the construction of the distillery in 2023. The building is moving ahead after Seogwipo city's issuance of the final approval for Lotte's plans last week.

It was learned that Lotte Chilsung Beverage had already submitted a distillery construction plan in the past, but Seogwipo rejected this at that time due to the surge in the amount of wastewater discharge in the area. Later, the city granted the permission after Lotte was able to prove that its upcoming distillery would not release large amounts of wastewater that would worsen water pollution.

As for Shinsegae, it is also planning to build its whisky distillery, but it will be using the factory of Jeju Soju which was purchased by Shinsegae L&B Co., Ltd., Shinsegae Group's beverage line that distributes distilled spirits. This company registered 14 trademarks for whiskies in March to prepare for the new business.

"We have moved fast to be the first to use the clean and exotic image of Jeju Island in whisky marketing," an official of Shinsegae L&B stated.