As Gary explains, “I’ve spent a large part of my working life working with botanicals and finding new ways to extract oils without affecting the flavour. With such a wealth of natural supplies on my doorstep, it just seemed like the time was right to set up on my own doing something I love.” The gins produced by the Suffolk Distillery are a London Dry distillation, which is then re-distilled with a unique recipe of ten different botanicals including the classic flavours of coriander, angelica, and juniper berries. Adding flavours to the gin is where Gary’s experience comes in. “Creating a new flavour is about skill and patience. Balancing the botanicals can be a bit trial-and-error and very much depends on the ingredients you select and your knowledge of extracting and blending flavours together.”
However, making a successful business in distilling takes more than a talent and passion for creating fabulous gins and vodkas, as Gary found out: “Setting up a distillery is not an easy process, licences need to be acquired, the premises need to be categorised as a bonded warehouse and Customs and Excise officials then come to question you, which can mean that you are turned down before you even start distilling. Plus there are all the other elements of running a business which working in the corporate world protects you from. Starting up on our own meant we were suddenly exposed to administrative processes like accounts and insurance, which needed to be dealt with. We knew that we would need to sell online as well as over the counter, so that needed more organisation, and of course we have to be aware of legislation such as GDPR for our marketing activities.”
Gary was able to turn to the New Anglia LEP which provides advice and support for businesses looking to establish themselves or grow by offering initiatives and training supported by public and private investment. For the Suffolk Distillery, accessing grants and support meant Gary could get this business online. For anyone thinking about starting their own business, Gary’s biggest piece of advice is to “keep an eye on your cash flow”. He found from experience that “when you’re starting out, you’re investing money into the business every day, but there’s no cash coming in. Even when you start to sell your product, there will be lots of people, retailers for example, who want at least 30 days credit. One thing I’ve learnt is just keep checking your accounts, to make sure you haven’t overstretched your finances.”
B U S I N E S S P R O F I L E | S C R U T T O N B L A N D | 2 1
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