Brockmans Gin Profiled. A Properly Improper Interview with Founder and Executive Director, Neil Everitt
20 minutes read
Introduction by: Peter Marshall
And now for something completely different. There is little doubt that Brockmans Gin has made a big impact on the business. Led by Neil Everitt, the brand has taken gin to pastures new – not just in terms of its quality but for its positioning within the spirits market. In this thoroughly engaging interview with Neil, with Global Marketing Director Eric Sampers alongside, we don’t just discuss Brockmans current product portfolio and plans for expansion. We also cover key industry issues which are important for everyone. With 30 years experience in the business, Neil’s views on challenges faced and the overall business direction are both refreshing and insightful. This is a must-read.
Peter Marshall (PM): Neil, welcome to TRunblocked.com. I think it’s fair to say that Brockmans Gin has a very distinctive branding strategy: “A Properly Improper Gin”. Well that’s fun, very British and quite left field. But how do you really differentiate the product in arguably an over-saturated gin market?
Neil Everitt (NE): I think the key point starts with the liquid. Every great spirits brand has to have a great liquid inside the bottle. Without that you’re nothing, and I think the liquid needs to be if not unique, clearly differentiated. When we were thinking about the sort of gin that we wanted to launch in 2006/2007, we said that we definitely weren’t going to try and out Tanqueray Tanqueray.
They’re very good at what they do, they produce a great gin. So we weren’t going to try and be like them.
So we alighted on berries as an interesting complement to the other botanicals and also almond to help smooth the taste delivery. We originally would talk about creating a gin like no other, because we really believed it was like no other. But we were perhaps a bit too focused on the gin. So, from there, Properly Improper was born, which is a reflection of the gin, but also the attitude that we have in terms of the brand. Because the liquid and the attitude come together, if you like, to create the brand.
PM: So, with the rise of craft spirits, what strategies do you employ to maintain the brand’s status as a super premium brand, because it is surely that.
NE: Great question. I mean, I think it’s true to say that craftsmanship is not necessarily luxury. We are super premium, but we also aspire to be considered somewhat of a luxury. If you want a gin and tonic, you probably don’t need to spend what we cost to get a gin and tonic.
But if you want something more than that, a more luxurious experience, a more special experience, then Brockmans would be one of your options. So, the assumption that to be good, you have to be craft, I think is not entirely fair. I think the reverse, however, is also an interesting thought process – that there needs to be craftsmanship in any luxury brand. So I think people sometimes focus on: its craft because it’s, you know, a one man band in their garage, either brewing or distilling.
But I think it’s about the care and the quality that goes into the liquid and the packaging that actually produces its craftsmanship and enables you to aspire to luxury statements, which is what we hope to be.
PM: Do you think that gin has been commoditized now?
NE: I think what happened with the so-called gin Renaissance or gin boom, or whatever you want to call it, was that given the relatively low barriers to entry in white spirits compared to brown spirits, particularly whisky, it was relatively easy for anybody to say: well, let’s launch a gin. And, within a few days almost, they’d have them. So it was very easy to get into the market, and when the market was growing at 50, 60, 80% a year, everyone, you know, jumps on the bandwagon. In today’s market, I think it’s only brands that have a real story and a real substance that is relevant to consumers, will survive.
And you know, I won’t lie to you, the last year and a half has not been easy for the industry, and Brockmans is not exempt from that. Consumer nervousness, but particularly trade nervousness in domestic markets above all. And concern about working capital, reducing inventories and so on. You know, if the great and the good, from Diageo and Pernod, have had challenges, then smaller companies like us are obviously going to be similarly challenged. And we have the added challenge that we have a single category focus, so we can’t compensate by better performance in different categories.
But the industry will come through it. I mean, I think there are some fairly unique headwinds, such as more focus on alcohol and health from some of the world’s authorities. I think, as we read only recently, the GLP agonists, apparently help reduce alcohol consumption and the whole Gen Z thing. I have been in the industry for over 30 years and these developments, these facts, these changes, are things that the industry has been through before. There have been many ups and downs – for businesses, for categories and for brands.
PM: That will continue.
NE: We’ve been around for thousands of years and that’s not going to change. Companies who are best able to adapt – they will get through it and will succeed. The companies and the management teams, I believe, who continue to think that what made them successful three years ago or 10 years ago is a recipe for success forever, will find it increasingly difficult. Because in business, you have to continually remain relevant. And living in the past will not do that for you.
PM: Let’s just stay with gin. As you know, there was a time, not so long ago, when the gin category really did fall out of favour. There are ebb and flows, as you said, and you can still talk about a renaissance, yes, which is largely coming through flavoured gins. But they, too, are now arguably moving out of favour. Where do you think the market is now heading and also cover the point that there appears to be simply too much gin product on the shelves right now. And particularly in travel retail where, equally, the retailers themselves are not necessarily giving vodka enough space and certainly not bringing in agave and tequilas, even though that is clearly the coming thing.
So gin’s never going to be displaced, but I would argue there’s a degree of rationalization on what’s going on the shelf that should take place.
NE: Well, firstly, I beg to differ. I think the gin renaissance was driven more by the spectacular adoption of the wonderful Spanish style gin and tonic, and it was the modern tonics that really woke everyone up to the possibility that gin didn’t have to taste like the London Dry with industrial strength tonic, which was the old old way of drinking it. So thank you to Spain, thank you to Ferran Adrià of El Bulli, now closed sadly, because that was a stone in a pond that generated multiple ripples.
You’re right, though, there has been flavour proliferation. And I think that will rationalise – unless those flavours are attached to brands that have relevance and continue to resonate with consumers. Otherwise they will lose ground and/or disappear. Now, I’m not a retailer, but it seems to me that retailers, like brand manufacturers, gin manufacturers, distillers, need to continually adapt to what their consumers are asking of them. And if you have a category strategy, which has a range, that’s fine, but part of that is then you will have some brands that don’t sell so well. But if you have a category strategy that is designed to generate revenue and profitability for you, then you need to optimize it. So, as we’d seen in high street retailers or grocers, I would think that that should happen in travel retail also that you need to optimize the range. And I may be speaking against my own category in that sense, but I think we need to be pragmatic, and if the brands that deserve to be on the shelf are on the shelf, the consumer will be best served.
PM: Let’s now dive into your gin itself. What actually inspired the use of red berries, and how do they influence the overall flavour profile compared again to traditional gins?
NE: So, at the start of the last century, before I was even a twinkle in a twinkle of a twinkle’s eye, my great grandfather started a fruit farm in Cambridgeshire. He bought the land. His name was Fitch – pillar of the community, justice of the peace, did a lot of charitable work, a great man. And he started the fruit farm and he would send his fruit every day up to Leeds, which was one of the two big wholesale food markets. And this is pre-grocers and national distribution centres and all that, so he’d be trucking up fruit. And the fruit that was grown on the farm was still grown on the farm during my lifetime.
But, finally, the trees and the bushes were pulled up, providing a combination of what they called ‘top fruit’. So that’s the fruit at the top of the tree, so pears and apples and so on. And ‘soft fruit’, which was the, well, the stuff on bushes. So we used to grow red currants, raspberries, blackberries in the hedgerows, as well as blueberries, which came much later. Inevitably as agriculture changed towards more open fields with wheat, corn and so on, and fruit farming became sadly uneconomic, and there’s a whole discussion to be had about why that happened. But I grew up on a fruit farm and I would go as the then owner’s son, my father, who was running the farm by this stage. I would go scrumping if you will, but it was kind of legal scrumping and I could go and pick plums and berries.
So I’ve always loved fruits and, within that, berries. So when we were brainstorming, well, how’s this gin going to be different? I said: what about berries? And I had a sort of old fashioned look from the people on the other side of the table. I said: well, let’s try it, and we did, and what came out of that finally was Brockmans.
PM: And what about the distillation process itself? Is that different from other gin producers?
NE: No, pretty pretty similar. You know, you can produce all sorts of different meals from the same kitchen, so the secret is the botanicals – and we have our improper botanicals, if you will – which are the berries and almond as well, almond oil. So it’s what’s on the inside that counts, I think is the phrase.
PM: Moving on, you recently achieved B Corp certification. We know how long and how difficult a process this can be. What changes and value has it brought to the business? Has it actually changed the business values themselves?
NE: I think it has a little, but I think more than that it was a very helpful and useful way for us to bring together a lot of stuff that we were already doing and thinking about. I’ve long had a huge commitment to and passion for what I call ‘better business’, which is not just becoming a more profitable business – that’s very nice – but actually being a business that’s a force for good, and part of that is social responsibility.
And B Corp is not just about environmental things and, you know, lightweighting our glass, which we’ve done very, very successfully now, and looking to reduce costs, the supply chain and all that. It’s also about formalizing the company’s statutes, the articles of association, that we recognize one of our key objectives is to serve stakeholders and not just shareholders. And as the main shareholder in Brockmans, that’s an important statement, in recognizing that I’m not the only person that we’re here to please, if you will.
But B Corp certification is not only difficult to get, it’s a measure of achievement of a certain level, but it’s not the end point. It’s almost a start point because, I believe anyway, we need to continue to improve. At the end, we want to still be here as a business in five/ten years time, and we don’t do that by having short term and profit only-led policies.
PM: Now, and you just mentioned, you have a new lightweight bottle. What are the technical aspects behind it that perhaps the industry can learn from?
NE: Peter, I’m not an engineering technician. We worked very closely with Verallia, and briefed them that we needed to significantly reduce the weight. And it’s Verallia’s expertise that has enabled us to do that. They’ve been great partners in that and I use their name unashamedly.
And it’s good for business too, because, if there’s less weight, the transport costs are lower and so on and so forth. So, you know, that was led by Eric and the marketing team and we’re really, really pleased with that outcome. But we’re a brand company and we rely on partners for a lot of the things that we do. We don’t need and we don’t want a huge organization. So, for this specific project, we found specific expertise and a really good partner in Verallia and worked together on that. And I think, you know, Verallia are very happy with the outcome, as we are.
PM: I think they’ll be happy with the plug!
NE: I’m sure they will be using it with other people, too!
Eric Sampers (ES): Allow me to jump in and to be a bit politically not correct. It was actually very easy to achieve from a technical perspective, we just had to sweat the software a bit.It took a couple of weeks, but it was very easy to reduce the weight of the bottle and have a beautiful design. So the message to send to the industry, if we want, we can. And if the entire industry was to move to lightweight glass, the impact on Co2 emissions would be massive. Because the fact that we were able to reduce the weight by 30 percent on average compared to our competitors, right? If you apply that to the entire industry, the matter is very simple.
PM: That’s enormous.
ES: Yes, the savings are monstrous.
NE: For some reason we collectively seem to quite like heavy bottles. And I’ve had over my 30 plus years, many people tell me: ‘no the consumer creates weights with quality’. They may well have done, and some may well still do, but I think I think the dialogue’s changing.
PM: Reality needs to change the perception. I guess when you’re traveling, you feel that a heavier bottle is less breakable. Just picking up on your earlier point, and oddly, it’s a bit of a contrast to the weight of your other products. The launch of Wÿld gin at TFWA in Cannes last year. I mean, that really provides, as I said, quite a contrast to everything else coming out of the Brockman stable. First, the design of the bottle is quite spectacular, but it also does appear heavy and heavy in price, too – something approaching 500 pounds a bottle.
There were two questions that emerge here. First, did you place an art form above your sustainability criteria? And second, do you think that there is a genuine place in the market for this über, ultra premium gin? Because it’s far more costly than anything else coming out of Brockmans right now.
NE: Let me answer the end of your question first which is, yes, most certainly – otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it. There definitely is a market that, up to now, would have said 500 pounds a bottle is an incredibly high price point. And I should also say it’s porcelain, not glass. And, as I think we mentioned in Cannes, the intention is that we will have a very limited edition, of 3 thousand units. A limited release, and then something slightly different in future years, so possibly collectible.
PM: It certainly smacks of being collectible.
NE: We hope so.
PM: So this is something of a collectible bottle that certainly will be for a candle to go into – that’s if it’s drunk!
NE: Yes, I think porcelain and the quality is certainly something you would not want to end up in landfill. You would want to keep hold of the bottle. So I think from that perspective, my environmental conscience is very clear. I think the opportunity I mean is real. There are whiskeys, tequilas, even vodkas at that level of pricing.
You know, we don’t mind, in fact we’re quite comfortable and almost look to be a little bit disruptive, and so it sits very well with our brand. It’s very proper in terms of the liquid, potentially a little bit improper in terms of challenging the received wisdom about gin being up to £500 a bottle.
PM: And how have retailers taken to it?
NE: We are still to formally launch, but all the feedback from Cannes has been tremendously positive. So I’ve got the team on a little bit of a hurry up, because I don’t want anyone else to beat us to the punch.
PM: So there’s more demand than supply. I guess you can eke up the price as well.
NE: I think once we’ve refined the price at 500 pounds, that’ll be fine. It’s just 3000 units. It really is a super limited production.
PM: What about the weight?
NE: The weight is the weight. I have a number of items in my home, whether they be lamps or bits of porcelain that have a certain weight and I keep them and I like them because of what they are. They are a permanent picture in my house. So I don’t think we’re getting into a disposable item here. The weight is what it is and there will be a transport cost associated with that weight to get it to its final owner.
PM: Is it transportation sensitive because it’s ceramic?
NE: No, I mean, the packaging, obviously something of that value, will need its own packaging and we’ll be very sensitive with that. No, I don’t think we anticipate any particular issues in that area.
PM: Okay. Let’s move into travel retail. I know you’ve clearly identified it as a key market to becoming a truly global player. I understand it now represents 5% of your business. Obviously there’s a growth opportunity there. How important is this channel to you? And can you briefly walk through your current listings across your public portfolio?
NE: So, our core markets are European currently. We have plans for North America certainly. Our current main customers for travel retail are Heinemann and Aer Rianta.
We are looking to expand that. But our main focus in terms of domestic business is to continue to expand our European footprint, so into central eastern Europe more and also the Mediterranean basin, which is still showing a lot of growth potential.
PM: So looking at cruise lines, too, obviously?
NE: Absolutely. And the role of travel retail? Obviously there’s a commercial opportunity here. I won’t lie to you that it’s an important channel, or potential channel. But, more than that, it’s a communication channel, particularly when we’re in the super premium luxury end. A lot of consumers at that level may be time poor and don’t get the opportunity to handle and experience and taste the product. So, for us, we see that as an opportunity, commercially as I said, in terms of being able to communicate, not only the taste of it, but also the theatre around the brand. That’s our hope and our intention. And I think we do think slightly differently to other people and that is also something potentially of interest to some of our potential customers in the channel.
PM: In terms of activations, are you doing anything ‘properly improper’ on airports?
NE: It’s improper in terms of the serve, unusual serves. You need people to understand that it’s not a bog standard gin and tonic that we’re talking about.
We also have a travel retail exclusive, which is 100% organic, which is designed to add a point of difference and a point of interest in the travel retail channel as well. It’s not available on the high street.
PM: So, as you’ve defined, there are clear gaps. If you could pluck a figure out of the sky, what percentage of your overall business would you like to see travel retail represent?
NE: Well, the overall business is growing, so a percentage will also grow. So I think around 10% would be a reasonable figure. But it’s a soft goal, it’s not a hard target. It’s very much a complementary channel. I think now is the time for us. We’ve got innovation in terms of liquids, we’ve got innovation in terms of packaging, we’ve got innovation in terms of communication around the brand. And, as I mentioned to you earlier, , in our key markets in the UK and Spain, we are the number two super premium gin in the domestic market. In Spain we are actually 2 or 3, depending on which data you read. And, for me it would be logical, therefore, to have some representation in the main retail travel outlets in those two markets.
PM: Interesting, because I think it’s an important point that you just made and it needs to be registered fully with retailers who probably are opening their eyes about how much you’ve achieved in a relatively short period of time with this product.
NE: As, and I know Carrefour do this, Eroski do this, Tesco do this, they’ll look at their category, and they’ll say: okay, so we need to make sure we have an appropriate amount of space dedicated to the category. First decision. Second decision, which of the brands we need to stock in that category. And I would suggest that, particularly where the category is perceived to be less dynamic than it was, that you need to concentrate on those brands that are going to perform for you.
PM: Fully agree. Anyway, you’re a busy man, Neil. So what keeps you up at night? Other than the heading up Brockmans gin, you’ve also taken up the Chairman’s role at Compass Box. I mean, can you actually juggle both of those roles successfully?
NE: Well, you’ve forgotten to ask or you want to add to the list, the most important roles I have, which are being a husband and a father and a grandfather.
PM: Well I can say ditto to that, or most of it .
NE: We’ll start with the priority, family first. Benjamin Franklin, I think, it’s attributed to him anyway. I think he said: if you want something done, ask a busy man. I never have been good at idle. I like to be busy, I like to not be rushing around, but I like to have a certain level of dynamic, a certain level of movement in my life. I have 30 years in the industry, most of which I’ve been very much the player or the captain on the pitch. I’m now at the stage where I get a lot of satisfaction and a lot of energy from being more of a guide and more of a mentor in some cases to individuals and to teams. I don’t need to be the person scoring the goal anymore or the try – whatever sport you and energy you want to use. I like being busy. And two great businesses, obviously, one I’m not the founder of. Compass Box is 25 years old. Great, great business, phenomenal brand and has also that little edge of having a bit of a difference and a bit of a challenger. So there’s a bit of a common thread there. I’m a shareholder, or very soon will be a shareholder in Compass Box. Obviously the position of Brockmans is somewhat different because I’m the founder of the business and the main shareholder, But they’re not competing, other than for general share of attention, and not in competing categories. So I see it as complementary. In both cases I learn every day. And it’s always about working with great teams of people. I learn a lot from Eric here and learn a lot from Jean Dominique and also the team at Compass Box who are already, you know, feeding in. Because I think the day you stop learning is the day you should stop.
PM: Absolutely. Or stop when you get bored. So, one last question for this somewhat epic interview. If there are three things you want to communicate to the industry, what would they be?
NE: First, unconditionally, is innovate constantly. And we were talking about this earlier. It’s not launching new product, new product, new product, but continually challenge yourself to do things better. Because what was good enough last year won’t be as good this year.
And you see this in all walks of life. When we talked about the sporting analogy, the championship winning team, if it’s not refreshed over time, reaches a point when, all of a sudden, you’re no longer winning everything. And it’s a life lesson, I think, not just a sporting one.
So, innovate in everything – from processes, as well as new products, but always try and keep one step ahead of the competition, the market, but also half a step ahead of the consumer. Try and anticipate what the consumer needs.
PM: Can I just jump in here? I mean, you’re a one-trick pony. It’s gin. What’s stopping you from broadening your offer by moving into other categories?
NE: Other categories? Well, we definitely are a one-trick pony. We’re really, really good at Brockmans.
PM: Is that going to preclude you from exploring other avenues?
NE: Well, I think much as we said earlier when when this all started, we took the very definite decision not to try and out-Tanqueray Tanqueray. A great gin, a great brand in the gin category. So I think we stick to our brand. If that brand at some point can be relevant in a different expression, then who knows?
PM: I was thinking whisky or rum.
ES: Well, think about Agave Cut spirit, so we are already expanding beyond the context. It’s the first hybrid in the world. with the spirit, which is Tequila, but that doesn’t say its name.
NE: The second thing I’d mention is no/low. It’s not a threat. It’s an opportunity. And when I say opportunity, I mean, short term, you may lose because people have the opportunity to drink something that’s not your main spirit brand. I think, currently, the flavour delivery from no/low spirits is not where it needs to be. That’s my personal view. This is why we haven’t yet piled in. I look back, with all due respect, to the people involved at the time, one of whom is a close personal friend, the early low alcohol beers like Caliber, which really was not that nice, and I looked now to what’s available from Guinness.
PM: It’s day and night.
NE: Absolute day and night. So for me it’s just a question of time before the industry figures out how to deliver this, a similar, close enough, and I think Guinness Zero is crazy important, it’s like 99.9% there, it’s amazing. And I’m not paid by Diageo.
So I think that will come, but let’s see it as an opportunity rather than as a threat. I think at the moment the responsibility is primarily on the bigger companies who have the resources. It’s less than 5% in most markets around the world, in spirits. So for us to put significant resource behind less than 5% of our business, where we’re not yet sure how the category is going to develop, that would be foolish, I think. So, good luck to the people who are. I’m not saying we’re right and everyone else is wrong.
And the third thing? Protect the ritual. There’s so much wonderful ritual around the consumption of spirits, whether it be the cocktail making or, particularly in gin, with the garnishes and so on. I remember in my early days I worked in Spain for two different companies, latterly for Allied Domecq. And the whole thing about the tray coming to the table with the bottle and the mixer, and it being done in front of you, it could have just been a Beefeater and tonic or a Ballantine’s and Coke. But it was ritual. And that just adds to the emotional engagement of the consumer with the category.. So, we talk about commoditization of brands. I think one of the ways that happens is if we allow the ritual to fade away, and we don’t we don’t emphasize that enough, because spirits have been a part of human interaction in society for hundreds, thousands of years. and a lot of that is associated with ritual, and it’s a beautiful thing. So I think we need to remember that.
PM: Anything else you want to add Eric?
ES: Well, from a brand perspective, because of the marketing that goes in here, I think with Brockmans we are building the adult, more exciting version of Hendrick’s, to name a competitor, and that’s really something we are developing with that Proper Improper brand proposition, which is what makes a standout in the crowd of brand offerings out there.
PM: Well let’s finish off with something Proper Improper and look at a short video from the recent London Fashion Show and your tie up with On/Off.
