AS growing numbers of Asian consumers develop a taste for Scotch, a young Scottish firm is taking a novel approach to building interest in the drink closer to home.
Name:
James Doig.
Age:
36.
What is your business called?
Finnieston Distillery Co. Ltd
Where is it based?
What services does it offer?
We’ve created a new range of ready-to-drink (RTD) Scotch whisky-blended cocktails in cans. The Finnieston Fling – ginger ale, lemon, lime and mint; the Old Fashioned Green Tea, with natural green tea flavourings; the Scotch on the Beach; ginger beer, vanilla and strawberry and the Shanghai Sour with lemon and lapsang honey flavouring.
At the outset, we began with just one product, a blended malt whisky. Our aim then was to bring whisky to a larger audience but it wasn’t as easy as we had first thought. We took a stand at the Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace in the summer of 2015 and it was there that we came up with the idea for the cocktails. We made them up ourselves and gave them out to passers by.
The response was overwhelmingly positive so we decided to try and commercialise the recipes. Our aim is to appeal to a broad market by showing how versatile Scotch whisky is and also how drinkable. We wanted to reflect that in the design of the cans with a nod to Glasgow’s heritage, as well as showcasing whisky in more contemporary packaging.
We work closely with Douglas Laing and Co who have helped us to produce a bespoke blend of whisky. At the moment, we don’t have our own facility and so we partnered with a company in Germany to produce our ingredients commercially. The whisky and the base cocktail ingredients are blended together before being canned – we take a hands on role in this process to ensure the finished product is as close as possible to our original recipes.
To whom does it sell?
The cocktails are stocked in a number of bars and restaurants in Glasgow, particularly in Finnieston and the West End. Edinburgh is also a real target market for us. We were approached by Sips and The City to supply for them during the Fringe and we’ve also made a point of dropping off samples in many of our own favourite Edinburgh venues and letting people know about the range and about us. Feedback has been great.
We have been in discussions with a number of supermarkets and, if everything goes to plan, we hope to be launching in at least one chain before Christmas this year.
What is its turnover?
In five figures on an upward trend.
How many employees?
Four.
When was it formed?
2013, as Dram2O. We officially became Finnieston Distillery Company in June this year, just prior to our first production run.
When we began to develop the cocktails commercially, we decided a rebrand might be a good idea and so began doing some research at the Mitchell Library into the local area.
One of our team found that Finnieston was home to one of Glasgow’s lost distilleries. Our office is on the fringe of Finnieston and we all socialise there. It felt like a great fit for the cocktails.
Why did you take the plunge?
I’ve always had an interest in Scotch whisky. I’ve also always thought that it had a needlessly stuffy reputation. I decided to try, in some small way, to change that perception.
What were you doing before you took the plunge?
I’m the founder and managing director of Contraho, a Glasgow-based property investment, development and construction business.
How did you raise the start-up funding?
I funded the business myself initially.
What was your biggest break?
We pitched our idea to a group of friendly investors and thankfully they agreed to back the business. We had gone quite far down the line with another option but our backers made an alternative offer and also brought considerable business experience with them. It felt like a good fit and it enabled us to speed up production. It’s very, very tough to raise funding for start ups – we looked at crowdfunding but that is becoming a much more difficult area to raise capital than it was even a couple of years ago. Our difficulty was we didn’t have any ‘pre orders’ - we needed someone, or a group of someones, who would back the idea.
What do you most enjoy about running the business?
Having the opportunity to create something innovative with products that have real potential in the global marketplace.
What are your ambitions for the firm?
To establish a well-known brand and showcase Scotland’s national drink in a new light. Ultimately, we want to be exporting. We have a few target markets in mind, but we are also conscious of not over stretching our resources, and forgetting who we are and where we are from.
What are your five top priorities?
Establishing the Finnieston Distillery brand; building and maintaining our key relationships; innovation; evolution; expansion.
What could the Westminster and/or Scottish Governments do that would help?
We applied for some government grant assistance and found the process quite clunky. I can understand why there is a robust process in place for public funds but if ministers are really serious about encouraging growth outside of London, then they need to act accordingly. A moratorium period of say two years on all tax on new businesses where the turnover is below a certain figure would also, I feel, encourage new businesses to create more skilled jobs.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned?
You have to be ambitious…..all the time. I’ve learned over the years in business that you can’t wait for the ship to sail in, you must swim out to it, even if the water is deep. Even when you experience a problem, you need to be able to quickly adjust, adapt and overcome.
In 2016, we were distraught when we lost out on our first listing contract in Canada with the Liquor Control board of Canada (LCBO), but ultimately, it was that disappointment which led us to rebrand and rethink what it was we were trying to achieve.
How do you relax?
Out of the office, I spend all of my time with my wife and children, playing sports, walking the dog and enjoying the outdoors. I also enjoy the odd whisky!
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