Young Spirits strengthens sales team

16/11/2020
Mike Li, International Sales Manager, Young Spirits

EDINBURGH based boutique bottling and spirits business, Young Spirits has recently bolstered its sales team with the addition of Mike Li to a newly created role as international sales manager.

Mike has joined the company during an exciting period as co-founders Alex Harrison and John Ferguson grow their bulk spirits business overseas in Asia. This year China has overtaken America as the largest growth market for whisky consumption and Young Spirits intends to build its presence in the region to meet the strong and growing demand for Scotch whisky.

Prior to joining Young Spirits, Mike had worked for Diageo in China for seven years. He had been involved in a joint venture with a white spirits company, initially leading on an integration and transformation project to bring the two businesses and cultures together. Mike then moved into an e-commerce role where he was responsible for overseeing a team that managed all the major online retail platforms for the brands in China.

Following this Mike set up his own drinks business with a partner in China selling the first carbonated white spirits in the world. He launched a range of RTD flavoured rums before returning to Scotland to support his son’s studies.

Alex Harrison, Young Spirits co-founder comments on Mike joining the team:

“This has been an exceptional year for us, as we have not just managed to survive Covid but have continued to grow the business and the team. We are extremely excited to have Mike onboard, as he doesn’t just have a wealth of knowledge of the spirits and Chinese markets, he has a stack of energy and has hit the ground running already. He will be working alongside me and together we will shape our international bulk spirits strategy.”

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