With a new production facility in the works and a handover in leadership at the top, La Maison Giffard’s new co-managing director Emilie Giffard gives Drinks International the full picture.
Sharing the role with her cousin Pierre, Giffard, with a background in business, began at the company on the commercial team, leading sales and brand development across northern Europe while based in London. Now at the helm of the French liqueur brand which celebrates its 140th year in 2025, Giffard says: “We’re proud we were able to continue the family adventure to sell our products around the world.”
The company has been undergoing expansion since 2017 when it opened a new syrups production site to meet the demands of the growing export market. During this time, the company has seen revenue grow from €20m to €47m and production from 5-11 million bottles, with exports now representing almost 70% of the business, reaching 90 countries.
However, with Giffard’s Avrillé site at maximum capacity and a new liqueurs facility underway, Giffard says: “It’s a big project for us and it will enable us to have more space to produce liqueurs, but we’ll still keep small batching because this is key for us. The second facility has been in the plan for eight years and came sooner than we thought. We are always looking to the long term as a family business, so that has an impact on our decision making.”
The €27m investment will see a larger R&D laboratory and the growth of a forest with diverse plant species used in production. And with these developments, Giffard aims to support the company’s future growth, integrate decarbonisation goals, and adapt its ‘artisan-industrial’ production model without compromising quality.
Giffard notes: “We knew our current location would be too small one day, so we started a project to make liqueurs near the syrup factory.
“We have about 60 flavours of liqueurs and 90 of syrups, so typically if someone wants a particular flavour we should have it and if we don’t, we will look to develop it. So, it’s also our strength and our know-how to manage so many flavours. From a production point of view it’s not easy, with the liqueurs we use maceration, which can take anything from one day to over a month.
“We always try to capitalise on tradition and where we’re from,” adds Giffard. “So we keep traditional techniques but we modernise the way we approach them.” One example is the brand’s foray into the non-alcoholic category in 2023, which will be produced alongside the alcoholic liqueurs in the new facility. Giffard uses the traditional method of maceration, but replaces the alcohol with white wine vinegar.
Giffard has everything it needs to succeed globally. It’s got history, provenance and a strong relationship among the bar trade – a bestselling and top trending liqueur in Drinks International’s Brands Report. But above all, steering the ship is a young and ambitions family member with a clear ideology.
