B.C. distillery pleads for gov’t support to get on shelves amid ‘buy Canadian’ movement

The provincial government is asking residents to buy Canadian at their local BC Liquor Store (BCL), but it isn’t making it easy on local producers and manufacturers.

A local craft distiller says markups at government-run liquor stores mean it’s virtually impossible to stock her products there.

If you were to buy a bottle of The Woods Spirit Co’s ‘Amaro Classico’ bitter liqueur directly from the North Vancouver distillery, it would set you back about $48 plus tax.

But owner Celia Chiang says if she were to try and stock it at BC Liquor stores, the chain would charge consumers more than $90 for the same bottle because of the company’s 124 per cent markup on spirits.

“It’s not great for the consumers. It’s not great for us. And so we need support. We need help from government. We need help from BCL to not only call for our products, but to support us in a way, so that it’s sustainable,” said Chiang.

Chiang says the only way she’d be able to sell to BCL right now would mean operating at a loss.

“It’s not feasible in any way. They need to support us by decreasing these markups,” Chiang explained.

She says it’s a tough time with a lot of uncertainty for business owners and it’s frustrating to walk past the ‘buy Canadian’ signs in liquor stores, knowing she can’t currently sell her locally made spirits there — especially given that craft brewers and wineries have a smaller markup to deal with.

The province says it is looking at how it can reduce barriers for local manufacturers but adds liquor markups are an essential source of government revenue and brought in more than billion dollars last year.

Chiang says she hopes changes happen sooner rather than later.

“We have definitely a small number of distilleries compared to wineries and breweries… but we would really love this opportunity to be able to get our products onto shelves, and to have consumers have the option of buying local and supporting small craft brands.”