How four independent distilleries with very different formats launched. There are easy ways to set up an urban spirits startup, and then there’s East London Liquor Company, an ambitious vodka, gin and whisky distillery established in 2014. Its site also hosts a bar and the company runs a small distribution business, too. Founder Alex Wolpert brought years of experience in …
The great spirit leveller
How a new wave of craft gin makers took on the big beasts in the spirits industry. The past few years have been a boom time for those who make or sell booze. But rather than benefitting the handful of major drinks groups which, for decades, have enjoyed an uncontested hold over the market, it’s been a new set of …
Timing the supermarket sweep
Pasta sauce maker Mr Organic is part of a wave of startup food and drink brands biding their time before they agree on a supermarket deal. ‘The plan is to make organic food more accessible,’ says Kostas Papakostas, co-founder of grocery brand Mr Organic. He says supermarkets are an inevitable step towards reaching that goal. The only question for Papakostas …
Distilling the details
The tactics small-scale producers used to change the landscape of the spirits industry. It takes some guts to enter an industry dominated by global players with very strong brands, in a category that was decidedly uncool, and with an obstructive and seemingly impenetrable licensing regime in place. It’s remarkable that a handful of entrepreneurs were able to make their mark …
How to get expert advice for your startup
With no experience in the food and drinks industry, Tea Rex’s founder landed a veteran to help get his tea brand off the ground. Like many a startup founder, Andrew Walker was left scratching his head when it came to several technical aspects of launching his fruit tea startup. How to get stocked in a supermarket? What’s the right price? …
Meet the motorway service stations that are embracing artisan food
Retail has become a cash cow for motorway service stations. Westmorland Family brought in £92m last year from just two outlets thanks to posh sausage rolls. About 30 miles north of Bristol along the M5, there’s an artisan petrol station. Gloucester Services houses an on-site butchers where people pre-order meat, stating whether they’ll be travelling north or south. Many don’t …
Two is the magic number: business co-founders share the secrets of their partnerships’ success
The relationship between business co-founders can be the most emotionally demanding in a person’s life. It can also be the factor which determines the success or failure of a company: the double act. In 2009, the Blackberry was so popular it was being referred to as the Crackberry. It accounted for half of all smartphones being sold. It was even credited …
Liquid nitrogen is expensive and dangerous to use. Is it worth it to make ice cream?
The ‘flash-freezing’ effects of a scary chemistry lab substance are being deployed on ice cream. Is it a gimmick or a game changer? For the last six years, Ahrash Akbari-Kalhur has donned his protective gloves and poured liquid nitrogen into his ice cream mixer. Tourists stare as they pass his shop, Chin Chin Labs, in Camden Stables, with its industrial …
Cooking with colour: turmeric and squid ink
Pigments – which work by absorbing certain wavelength of light and, unlike dyes, don’t dissolve in water – traditionally come from biological sources. Here, two London chefs use bright turmeric and slick squid ink to create two pigment-packed dishes. by Rohit Ghai, Jamavar Turmeric powder, packed with the lurid orange pigment ‘curcumin’, is often considered to be more about the …
Mealpal’s bid to offer discounted lunches through subscriptions
The founder behind Classpass is trying to get another two-sided marketplace off the ground. It is signing up restaurants at quite a rate, but is the model sustainable? How it works The customer commits to the subscription and is given a highly discounted lunch (less than £5). They have to book it in advance before 9:30 each day they’re eating …