By Ian McConnell
Business Editor
A RUM distillery based in Glasgow’s west end is toasting a jump in annual turnover from around £200,000 to £1 million, and is targeting overseas expansion.
Wester Distillery, owned by co-founders Zander Macgregor and Allan Nairn, is focusing its overseas expansion ambitions on France and Germany this year.
However, a spokeswoman for the distillery said it was also “exploring opportunities in other export markets such as Australia, the Nordics and USA”.
Wester Distillery, which employs four full-time staff and one part-time employee and was set up in 2017, said it would not be releasing profit figures “at the moment”.
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The distillery attributed its growth in turnover partly to its “pivoting during the Covid-19 pandemic to focus on direct-to-consumer sales, with the closure or restricted opening of many trade outlets”.
It added that “this change in direction is something the distillery is looking to build on further this year, having already secured a customer base of 35,000 people across the UK last year alone”.
Asked about the main sales channels for the business, the spokeswoman replied: “Our main sales channel is direct-to-consumer via our website. This is where the majority of our sales are coming from but as buyer confidence increases after Covid we have seen a 430 per cent increase in our trade sales compared to this period last year. This is an area of the business that we will continue to grow throughout this year.”
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The distillery said it had “conversations currently ongoing with stockists in Germany and France”.
It added: “This, coupled with a renewed focus on reinvigorating relationships with trade stockists in the UK, will allow the distillery to further diversify its audience and achieve its target growth figures.”
The distillery flagged its aim to “at least...double customer numbers in the coming year”, and flagged plans to diversify its range.
It said recent “efficiencies “ would allow an increase in production to help support new limited-edition batches, from seasonal winter spiced rum to “innovative products tailored to customer demand”.
Mr Macgregor said: “Since setting up the business in 2017 we’ve seen steady growth but over the last year demand for our products has soared.”
He flagged the distillery’s “ability as a small business to adapt to changes in customer tastes and respond to the changing marketplace".
Mr Macgregor added: “Over the past year we’ve focused on building our direct-to-consumer sales and with sales in the first two months of the year showing us as already being on track to hit our growth targets for this year, this is something we hope to build even further. We’re also engaging with potential trade customers to allow us to bring our...products to consumers whether they are at home or in bars or restaurants.”
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