Based in the Emsland region of north-western Germany, the H. Heydt private corn schnapps distillery has been successfully marketing its products for a century. Corn schnapps was produced in the company’s own distilleries from the start. As the years passed, the range of products was carefully and gradually extended. These included HKT herbal liqueur (“the hearty herbal drink”) and then fruit-based liqueurs, followed by the latest trend-setting vodka mixer drinks.

The key factor in the company’s success has always lain in its constant insistence on the high quality of its individual brands. “We provide a link between innovation and tradition,” is how the company’s CEO Hubert Heydt puts it.

With a firm eye on establishing his company’s position on the market, Mr Heydt does not just rely on natural growth to develop the product portfolio. This is why the last few years have seen a series of acquisitions involving regional producers of spirits and liqueurs. Heydt only considers brands that enjoy strong regional recognition and possess characteristic local colour. The key question is always whether these brands can be developed in such a way as to contribute to the growth and success of the group as a whole. Just a few of these brands are listed here:

• Wippermann Wacholder and Wippermann Wacholder, along with Boonekamp
• Schinkenhäger and Urkönig
• Ammerländer Löffeltrunk and Ammerländer Roter, along with Genever
• Hullmann’s Alter Korn and Hullmann’s Weizenkorn

This nurturing of traditional brands in combination with innovative marketing concepts is what helps create Heydt’s future-oriented and sure-footed approach to the market.

The company concentrates on the regional marketing of its products in the north of Germany, although some of its brands are currently finding a foothold in places as far afield as Japan and Canada.