The Groningen distillery Hooghoudt will close at the end of this year, director Martin Strijtveen confirmed to the ANP following reports from regional media. The production of the 137-year-old company will be moved to Ghent, where parent company La Martiniquaise already has a branch.
According to Strijtveen, Hooghoudt has been suffering losses for a number of years and it is no longer profitable to keep the distillery in Groningen open. “The drinking of jenever is dying out a bit. The American import tariffs also don’t help,” the director says about the decision.
The 29 employees in Groningen are expected to lose their jobs. The family business Hooghoudt was taken over by the French La Martiniquaise at the beginning of 2025.
The company specializes in the production and sale of spirits. It also has several other jenever brands, such as Goblet and Olifant. Despite the move to Belgium, the Hooghoudt brand will continue to exist.