Innovation can be found
in ancient traditions

Many organisations wrestle with the concept of innovation, mainly because they tend to believe business should be conducted the way it always has been. As a result, many great organisations that were around before the dawn of the commercial Internet in 1990 no longer exist today. From Daewoo to Olivetti, Pan-Am to Sears, the weight of their histories, management and legacy cultures rendered them unable to compete as a new world was emerging.

But innovating an old brand is not always about cutting-edge technology or new management styles. This message was brought home quite beautifully last week when a 200-year-old brand launched a product that was all about innovation, without compromising its existing business.

Johnnie Walker, home of some of the world’s best-selling Scotch whiskies, released a limited edition expression called Blue Label Elusive Umami, defining it by the innovation that went into its creation.

Umami is a Japanese word loosely meaning “essence of deliciousness”, and is a savory flavour regarded as the fifth taste, along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter. It is also an elusive flavour that many culinary experts try to replicate. Johnnie Walker’s master blender Emma Walker collaborated with renowned Japanese chef Kei Kobayashi to create a whisky that encapsulated the character of umami.

“It wasn’t just a blending experience, but a gastronomic exploration,” she said.

Johnnie Walker holding company Diageo said in a statement: “In the world of spirits, tradition and heritage have long been the bedrock upon which the finest brands have built their legacies,” “For centuries, whisky distillers have remained faithful to age-old techniques, cherishing the time-tested methods that have yielded some of the world’s most cherished libations. However, a paradigm shift is underway, and innovation has become the guiding star in the spirits industry, ushering in a new era of possibility and excitement.”

The entire industry was now experiencing a “renaissance in innovation”, said Diageo. Rivals are experimenting with new cask types to bring new flavors to their whiskies, resulting in the emergence of variants like Japanese Mizunara oak and Australian Acacia wood.

New fermentation techniques are creating more complex whiskies, new distillation techniques are delivering whiskies with different profiles, and new maturation techniques are producing new flavours and aromas.

Aside from the world discovering single malt whisky in a big way in the 21st century, this innovation has also underpinned the popularity of a new style of whisky shop, such as Whisky Brother in Johannesburg and Wild About Whisky in Dullstroom, where customers spend more time talking about the products than browsing. With innovation in the industry has come a level of expertise from the vendors of whisky that is unprecedented.

“Innovation for the Johnnie Walker brand will no longer be a rare occurrence,” said Diageo. “By embracing innovation at every turn, Johnnie Walker is not only rewriting the rules and conventions of whisky but also captivating a new generation of whisky aficionados.”

Donne’ Wolk, portfolio manager for innovation at Diageo, told Business Times at the launch of Elusive Umami At the Circa Gallery in Johannesburg: “It’s the first Limited Edition Johnnie Walker Blue and we are hoping to bring out a new innovation every year. For Umami itself, it’s limited liquid. Only this year will you have this liquid. We’re hoping that it will be in markets for two to three months, and then it will be gone. Next year this time, maybe you can expect a new innovation and new liquid.”

But do consumers really want innovation from truly traditional brands? Wolk says it is not even a debate.

“For Johnnie Walker to stay relevant with consumers, they need to look at how consumers are seeing whiskey, and making sure that we can bring the new to consumers.”

* Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram on @art2gee.