WESTER Spirit Co was set up by Zander Macgregor and Allan Nairn to fill the gap in the market for a spiced craft rum distillery. Based in Glasgow’s west end, it’s the city’s first rum distillery in 300 years. The rum is already exported to Germany and Denmark but Zander hopes it will soon go fully international by supplying to more countries.
Name: Zander Macgregor
Age: 28
Position: Co-founder
WHAT’S THE BUSINESS CALLED?
Wester Spirit Co
WHERE IS IT BASED?
Glasgow
WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?
MYSELF and my friend Allan from school set it up. We went to primary school and high school together.
When I was in bars and restaurants and I realised that there wasn’t the same opportunity to drink craft rum compared to gin, whisky and craft beers.
There isn’t anything in Scotland apart from Dark Matter [a Scottish rum distillery] in Aberdeen.
I looked at options for my own distillery.
In the first year we distilled in Strathearn and set up our own in November last year.
I have always wanted to run my own business. I did a business degree at Strathclyde University. After that I did a mixed bag of things. It’s the same with Allan – I’m 28 and he’s 26.
The reaction from people has been great. The rum is made with lots of fresh ginger, lime and orange peel – there’s an emphasis on natural ingredients instead of being full of sugar like normal rum.
We took out a £10,000 loan from RBS to pay for the initial production and friends helped with branding and PR and since then we have asset financed distillery equipment.
WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?
PEOPLE who have embraced the craft movement, are willing to try new products and are aware of what they are drinking and eating.
The products are high quality with real provenance.
It’s £35 a bottle so it’s a premium product. We sell the majority to wholesalers who distribute to bars, restaurants and shops in Scotland and get it onto cocktail lists.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?
THE production process. We make it from scratch with high quality molasses.
We’re not buying in any spirits from the Caribbean, it’s made
in Glasgow.
There’s an element of natural ingredients and absolute attention to detail.
IS SCOTLAND A GOOD PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS?
YES, I think it is – Scotland is world renowned for its distillery talent. Whisky is the biggest distilled product in Scotland.
There’s great support for food and drink businesses here.
We haven’t done a huge amount of trade shows – only about two or three – but Scotland has loads of them.
I don’t know how effective they are anymore with customers because it’s all online now but it’s good to network with wholesalers.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
I ENJOY the marketing and product development side – creating things is the best part.
There are just three of us at the moment so there are more tedious tasks involved too.
We all help out with creating liquids, packaging and branding.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
WITH the scale we’re at it’s about deciding what’s the best thing to do as we need to
make sure each decision is the right one as we’re a growing business.
Doing the cash flow and managing that is one of the trickier tasks.
WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS’ TIME?
WE want to really position ourselves as the craft distillery of rum in the UK. I’m hoping to move into whisky and things as well.
We also aim to grow the team and export to a few countries as well.
We already export to Germany and Denmark at the moment and we are speaking to people in France, Canada and the US.
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