UK Enterprise Awards 2021

36 | UK Enterprise Awards 2021 Apr21383 Most Innovative Craft Spirit Brand 2021 ONS International Ltd is dedicated to developing, marketing, and distributing its own brand of spirits. Following its recent success in the UK Enterprise Awards 2021, we caught up with CEO Paresh Thakkar to discover how the firm earned itself the title of ‘Most Innovative Craft Spirit Brand 2021’. Beginning on a warm summer’s afternoon, ONS International stumbled across the idea of infusing a simple fruit tea with distilled gin. After receiving many positive reviews from families and friends, the experiment turned into a global business. To start, Paresh Thakkar, CEO of this pioneer of the gin industry, provides a brief overview of the firm to give us just a flavour of some of its offerings. “Gin Redefined isn’t just our slogan, it’s also our mission. Whilst priding ourselves on excellence and creativity, we strive to produce a high-quality craft gin which will leave a long- lasting impression on our customers. GTEA Gin is our primary brand which is a distinct range of tea-infused gins with over seven different flavours. The brand has seen fantastic growth and early success within its first year of trading which includes a Bronze Award at the World Gin Awards 2021. “GTEA Gin is sold to a variety of different consumer segments, including online via eCommerce, retail, and wholesale. Naturally, our aim is to build our distribution network through national distribution links whilst looking for links with wholesalers who service the trade, such as Enotria & Coe with whom we are listed with”. To ensure that the firm is able to offer its clients a unique selling point, it continuously explores the options to grow its range of products, as Paresh explains further. “Due to our ingredients and broad portfolio, our gins have a unique flavour profile which is unmatched within the flavoured gin market. However, we are always looking to improve wherever possible which is why we constantly trial and develop new flavours”. With ONS International constantly looking to produce high-quality products which will leave a long-lasting impression on its customers, employees have a crucial role to play. As Paresh points out, in this regard the firm has specific criteria to fill when hiring staff. “Typically, we tend to employ people from the industry that share the same passion and enthusiasm for the product as we do. By conducting tastings and training with them we ensure all our staff have well-rounded knowledge of our products. Furthermore, we like staff to provide their input towards social media campaigns or product photoshoots”. Most recently the firm has had to adapt to the outbreak of COVID-19. Despite experiencing some difficulties, there has been a resurgence in the global gin market, as Paresh goes on to explain. “Due to restrictions, we’ve been unable to present our products to major retailers which has also led to potential customers in the hospitality trade being unwilling to take on our product. Additionally, a lack of face to face meetings has harmed communication but we’ve tried our best to stay in touch with clients over the phone or via email. However, research shows the gin market is expected to grow by approximately 3.9% between the period of 2020-2023. Further research has also indicated that the UK is a profitable submarket with over $3.46bn USD of the revenue share towards global gin sales coming from the UK. “Over the last year we’ve also noted seasonal trends in our products with the summer months proving to be more popular than the winter months. To boost sales during the quieter months, we created a miniature gift set which contained our entire range in 5CL bottles. This product was then pushed around seasonal holidays in an effort to boost sales. In December 2020, we actually saw a 65% increase in our eCommerce sales”. Gin has always been synonymous within the UK, hence it blends itself very well to authenticity. However, moving forward, the firm are keen to expand further in global markets as Paresh elaborates further. “As we operate in international markets, especially within the USA, Middle East, and India, we are fairly centrally located which assists us considerably with shorter transit times. Looking ahead in addition to achieving growth in the USA market, we will be setting up operations within the Asia market. Lastly with four of our seven flavours approved by the FDA, we are expecting approvals for our remaining flavours very soon!”. Company: ONS International Contact: Paresh Thakkar Email: [email protected] Web: www.gteagin.com Address: Wroxall Abbey Hotel & Spa, Birmingham Road, Wroxall, CV35 7NB Phone: 01926 962620