AMID a boom in the craft gin movement two Scottish entrepreneurs have developed a distillery which has built up a global customer base from a remote area of the country.
Name:
Martin Murray.
Age:
36.
What is your business called?
Dunnet Bay Distillers.
Where is it based?
Dunnet Bay, John O’Groats. We’re the most northern distillery in the mainland of Scotland, which has its charms and challenges.
What does it produce, what services does it offer?
We produce and sell handcrafted, premium Scottish spirits; Rock Rose Gin and Holy Grass Vodka.
To whom does it sell?
We sell through a series of distributers who in turn sell to department stores such as John Lewis and Harvey Nichols. Both Rock Rose Gin and Holy Grass Vodka are available to buy across the UK.
What is its turnover?
In our latest annual results from year end July 2017 we reported a turnover of £1.8m.
How many employees?
We have 15 staff and a wee distillery dog, Mr. Mackintosh.
When was it formed?
My wife, Claire, and I started the distillery in 2013, and we sold our first product in 2014.
Why did you take the plunge?
Claire and I both grew up in Dunnet Bay and were looking to move home to raise our children. We had a great childhood growing up here, with a strong sense of community spirit and lots of things to do outdoors so we wanted our children to share the same experience. We were exploring opportunities to work together, and we’ve always enjoyed brewing and distilling as a hobby and wanted to turn this into a full-time business. We achieved this goal in two months.
What were you doing before you took the plunge?
I was a project manager in the Oil and Gas industry, which involved lots of troubleshooting and problem solving. It was demanding but enjoyable work and offered real satisfaction when a job was completed. However, it meant I spent a lot of time away from the family and home. Just before we took the plunge, we were about to move to West Africa for a new role I was offered, but we couldn’t deny the lure of Dunnet Bay!
How did you raise the start-up funding?
I completed a series of short term (and quite dangerous) contracts in off-shore oil and gas. We used the money to fund the distillery, slowly and organically. I did both jobs for a short time so after I’d get home from working off-shore, the first thing I’d do was start making gin.
What was your biggest break?
We were lucky enough to have two. The first was the big resurgence of gin, it came back in a big way, especially for Scotland, and we were just in time to benefit. The second was the North Coast 500 road trip (launched in 2015). We are right on the route so almost immediately started benefitting from the increase tourism. We started hosting distillery tours in response to the interest and it was through this we began to build a global fan-base, with people still ordering product through the website all over the world.
What do you most enjoy about running the business?
I’ve really enjoyed watching the business evolve as it’s changed so much in a short time. As we’re selling more, it’s great to see our people develop and be able to provide more employment opportunities for the local community.
What do you least enjoy?
Juggling everything and not having enough time to spend with the family. Also, compliance, custom charges and VAT returns!
The HMRC systems technology seems to be very out of date.
What are your ambitions for the firm?
We want to keep spreading awareness of our products to a wider audience, with the aim to increase international sales, while maintaining the feel and values of the brand. We want our spirits to be sought after but to remain in control of the small-batch production process.
What are your top priorities?
Grow the business and develop our team. Last year we attended the Scotland Can Do SCALE programme, which was incredibly beneficial in providing a different way of looking at the business and learning from other businesses on how they manage growth.
Attract tourists to Dunnet so we and other local businesses can benefit.
Continue to create products which are exciting and novel. We enjoy experimenting and want to show people what we can do through special releases.
Increase our exports and continue to grow the Dunnet Bay Distillers brand across the globe.
Achieve a suitable work/life balance so I can spend more time with Claire and the kids.
What single thing would most help?
More staff to share the workload!
What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?
Cut alcohol tax for small distilleries. They offer a tax break for beer but not for spirits. A cut in tax would mean we’d have more money for growth and resource.
What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?
Trust your gut – When we were deciding the bottle design, we were told that gin should be in a coloured bottle. However, we ignored that advice and went with a design that we liked, and truly believe it has played a part in our successes.
How do you relax?
I love to travel. Most recently, as a family we took a train journey through Germany, Copenhagen and the Swiss Alps. But as a business owner, I’ll always have my laptop!
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