Glass bottle shortage being felt by a distillery in Guelph

Throughout the pandemic, house prices, gas prices, and construction costs have all increased. In addition, with the global supply chain issue and the war in Ukraine, distilleries are now experiencing a glass bottle shortage.

A Guelph-based distillery said they are experiencing a shortage of glass bottles, caps, labels, bags, and boxes.

In a statement to CityNews 570, the president of Dixon's Distilled Spirits, Jeremy Dixon (JD), said, “with Government tax on alcohol, we are already very thin margins. So there isn't anything to do but to increase prices.”

With the current shortage, Dixon has waited six months for orders that usually take two weeks. While it is a combination of everything, he adds, shipping ports have become a recent issue. Glass bottles could be sitting on a boat for three months while waiting to come into a port.

“Our bottles have gone up 53-56 per cent in bottle cost. That is just the bottle itself. If you go to another supplier, they know why you are calling because you can't get bottles, so that they will tack on a little extra. It has been troubling.”

Dixon's Distilled Spirits were able to grapple with the problem very early, but suppliers know there is a problem, and so they too are “price gouging.”

“We do have a supplier list which has expanded over the last two years. We went from one to two suppliers of the same product. Today we may have up to six different suppliers of the same product.”

Dixon noted that there are two significant issues to keep in mind from a consumer standpoint, especially with international beverages. First is the lack of inventory from products not made in Canada. Secondly, costs. Overseas shipping has almost tripled in price in just the last eight and a half months.

“As a manufacturer of anything, you can take a hit here and there. But, we are seeing so much increase across so many things. It has to be passed along. We can't eat it. We will start losing money and jobs. The cost has to go down at the final retail cost.”

Price increases in alcoholic beverages have already started to increase. Though maybe small, it is becoming more noticeable. For example, a canned vodka drink is around $2.99. Dixon said they are now creeping over the three-dollar mark.

While this distillery did a great job pre-ordering supply in advance, Dixon expressed concerns that smaller shops are having a more challenging time, especially when ordering smaller quantities of collection. “I don't see a quick end in sight, although I'm hoping there is.”