What is the strategy behind Ramsbury gin?
We are focusing on the farming side of things, we control everything from how we put the grain into the soil, and there is a demand for traceability. Consumers want to know where the product comes from - they are receptive to history.
Are you looking to steal share from competitor gin brands or are you looking for new consumers in the category?
Both. We are targeting gin drinkers, but those who are trading up, who want to know where the gin comes from, they are becoming more conscious consumers.
Which markets is Ramsbury gin best performing?
Currently we are operating in a few European markets, UK, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Although we have been around a while, we are still local [based in Wiltshire, UK].
Do you have international ambitions? If so which markets?
We are focusing on Europe, for ease of access. There is a lot of growth as they are a conscious market – I just came back from Italy and the terroir concept was the thing that interested them the most, it’s not just the UK. France and Germany are used to this concept, due to wine and champagne. In the future we are looking at the US.
Gin has been hugely popular for some time now, when do you think the bubble will burst?
It is a very exciting market. There is wacky but also an interest in premium. I believe in 3-5 years gin will be behaving like the vodka category in the 80s. I think it will slow down, but there will be shifts within it, consumers will demand tradition. There is still another 3-5 years of UK growth. I don’t think gin will ever go back to pre Hendricks. Gin will be 20% of the market share, up 1%, then down 1% and I see big players losing out.
Are there plans to further Ramsbury’s spirits offering?
First of all, I believe our mothership brand isn’t established enough to extend our spirits offering yet. We are playing around with different types of wheat, I can see us going in that direction as opposed to a different category. We make our gin and vodka from Horatio wheat, but the problem is Horatio is hard to buy. We have played around with Claire wheat, and that is more accessible, which therefore caused us to rethink. The fascinating thing about this is it opens your eyes to how gin and vodka could be.
