“The secret sauce is that you need to balance between size and scale to maintain a direct connection with consumers” PwC’s Akshat Dubey and Rakesh Mani told us. Obviously, the distillery needs a taproom, but not just to serve its products.
“When you talk to people they should tell you the story behind every flavor….how an accident led to a particular flavor,” they said.
The noted that a lot of gin brands tout the quality of their brands. “But gin is a product you and I could go out and make in our own bathtub.” So gin isn’t so special.
But one craft gin brand’s entire marketing campaign was how they brought back copper stills to make gin….the history, it’s more authentic, credible and influences taste. So, when the consumer chooses to drink that particular gin, he’s buying into that story and heritage.
Pure quality of the product is extremely important, they said, adding: “It’s very unlikely you’ll only have one product. You need an assortment that can take different tastes of the consumer. You want to make sure your product is really solid, that your growth isn’t coming just because craft is currently hot.”