From wine to carbonated drinks

WINEPAK Sdn Bhd is the first company in Malaysia to produce its own red and white wines. Over the years, it has added a range of spirits to its product line, and diversified into alcoholic beverage production and bottling services for overseas clients. It offers marketing and distribution services as well. In this exclusive interview, executive director, Gilbert Yeo, says Winepak plans to broaden its range of non-alcoholic beverages.

When and where was Winepak first established?
Winepak Sdn Bhd was established in 1982 as an alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage producer. It started off in Prai, Penang, and mostly produced spirits and mineral water for local consumption. Since then, it has stopped producing mineral water to focus on wines & spirits, and moved its production to a 2,000-square-metre factory in Kuala Lumpur.

Its line of services expanded from spirits for local market, to private labelling and production of wines & spirits for international brands. Winepak has become one of the leading alcoholic beverage manufacturers in Malaysia to date, with about 25 permanent staff on board in addition to part-time workers.

What is the company’s vision/philosophy?
Our vision is to become a leading, top-quality manufacturer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in Southeast Asia. Although the company’s current forte and specialisation is in wines & spirits, it’s the company’s vision to expand more into healthier low/non-alcoholic beverages in the near future.

What products do you offer?
In addition to the first locally produced red and white wines, Winepak was the first Malaysian company to come out with its own glutinous rice wines. It offers brandy and whisky; white spirits like vodka, gin, rum, and tequila, as well as traditional herbal tonics. We also offer non-alcoholic sparkling juices. Most of them can be found in hypermarkets, retail shops, and restaurants in Malaysia.

Winepak imports bulk wine for production and bottling locally. Our finished wine product is generally smoother, at the same time having a sweeter taste compared to the imported one. It is developed to suit the taste of the locals.

What is your production volume?
Winepak produces more than 3 trillion litres of alcohol per annum. Red wine consists of 20% and white wine consists of 3% of production. The rest comprises hard spirits, white spirits and herbal liqueur. These are just the owned-brand alcoholic products, sold mostly to local market channels. Winepak also does sizable volume of private labelling and export goods to other countries including Singapore. Our clients include Allied Domecq, Johnnie Walker whisky, some Australian wine producers and Singaporean companies.

Where do you source raw materials?
We normally source the ingredients and raw materials through the Internet and through trade referrals. As for machinery, these are all sourced from local suppliers. The main challenge might be sourcing for alternative, novelty/new flavouring and also, in ensuring reliable, consistent quality in materials, especially when sourcing materials from China.

What is the selling point of your products?
Winepak produces its own high-quality local brand products at low, competitive prices. We believe in producing quality products that meet local taste and at local affordable prices. Also, we believe in constant innovation, coming up with new creative ways for packaging and presentation that appeaZoom Lebron XIII 13