Independent gin and vodka producer House of Boe is launching its first 'brand home' and is setting ambitious new sales targets.
The producer of a range of flavoured gins and vodkas, distilled in Stirling, has set an annual sales target of £10m for the financial year 2022/23, as it emerges from the coronavirus crisis. Before Covid-19, its annual turnover was £8.5m.
Its new experiential retail outlet is opening in July in South Queensferry, in the shadow of the Forth Rail Bridge, following the success of a pop-up shop on the site of a former bank during the pandemic.
To mark the launch, House of Boe is unveiling its first limited edition products, the Queensferry Collection of bespoke gins, with only 1,000 bottles available at the new venue.
House of Boe sells its products mainly across the on-trade, in bars and restaurants, as well as the off-trade, such as supermarkets like Morrisons, Tesco, Asda and the Co-op, and online. Its products can be found in almost 20,000 pubs and bars in the UK, including Green King, Marston’s, Mitchell & Butlers and Stonegate Pub Company venues, as well as independent outlets such as The Dome on George Street in Edinburgh.
The majority of sales are in the UK, but it is also growing in popularity in Spain and plans to target other European and global markets.
The business is run by three directors, Andrew Richardson, Carlo Valente and Graham Coull, who combine production, marketing and sales experience in the industry.
The House of Boe launched its first gin in 2007 and brought out its inaugural flavoured product, Boe Violet Gin, in 2016.
Richardson said: “We have been investing in our business with the launch of new flavoured gins and vodkas and growing our employee numbers.
“We’re now in a strong position to open our first brand home in South Queensferry, in which we have already invested more than £200,000.
“We see ourselves as risk takers, willing to stand out from the crowd, hence our move away from craft, with its production focus, to focus on the enjoyment of our drinks and their fit with our consumers’ lifestyles.”
Richardson continued: “Along with others in the drinks trade we were impacted by the closure of bars, pubs and other venues during the pandemic, but we continued to put money into our business and are now reaping the benefits.
“We’re on track to meet our sales target for next year and have many more exciting developments in the pipeline.”
The business has a head count of 15 - with 10 in Scotland and five in England - following a recruitment drive, including the appointment of a sales person to manage relationships with large supermarket chains across the UK.
It is currently taking on a retail manager and other staff for its South Queensferry venue.
As well as launching new flavoured gins and diversifying into flavoured vodkas, the brand has recently started offering its products in pre-mixed in cans.
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