18 | UK Enterprise Awards 2022 competitive. This innovation directly feeds back to our clients.” This client centric and personable approach is crucial to Spiritrade’s journey moving forwards. Above all else, Jimmy believes strongly in building a strong community around the brand and company. This ties into their ultimate goals with the reinvigorated image and user platform, resulting in a company that works alongside its clients to achieve their goals and needs. “The main drawback to the drinks industry is safety or transactional risk. This is a challenge that we try to tackle head-on, and it is the primary ethos of our business. Our platform is built from scratch, and we have been investing in technology for over 5 years. It is tailored specifically for the drinks industry, and we aim to continue investing in a best-in-class marketplace technology to accommodate an industry valued at over $3tn.” Naturally, it also helps that the company is spearheaded by someone who understands the industry, inside and out, as Beatriz moves on to explain. “Jimmy has been involved in the drinks industry for over two decades. In 1999, he founded a premium drinks wholesaler called Vanquish which was responsible for supplying the most important venues in Central London with Champagnes and Spirits. The business soon became an awardwinning and dominant force within London for the distribution of premium drinks. “In 2012, Jimmy co-founded another awardwinning business called 31Dover.com. Through extensive experiences gained in the B2B and B2C world, it has enabled Jimmy to utilise these experiences to address and overcome all the challenges the drinks industry faces. Whilst incredibly large, the drinks industry is very fragmented, and our goal is to make this industry run more efficiently and safer by connecting Buyers and Sellers from around the world utilising a full Escrow model.” This blend of industry-defining technology and solution-seeking mindset has swiftly differentiated Spiritrade from any potential competitors. As is to be expected, the future of the company lies in increasing this competitive edge, and through further investment in logistical solutions and UI/ UX refinement. Finally, Beatriz summarises her top tips for new start-ups looking to reinforce their position and UPS in their market. • Have a good strategic plan - you need to know your target and understand their needs. • Focus on your goals for the company. • Seek out all applicable platforms that can help your company improve until you find the right one. Be on a constant look out for opportunities on this front. • Be always aware of what is happening in the digital world, because everything can change from day to night. Keep informed and if you don’t know, learn it! The more you know, the more you’ll grow. Spiritrade Website: Spiritrade.com Founded in 2019, Spiritrade was launched to capitalise on a growing need in the drinks industry – namely, to create an easy to use, client-centric platform for seamless trading between businesses. We spoke with Spiritrade’s Marketing Lead Beatriz Pimenta who was eager to share insight into how the company has set a robust foundation for enduring success. Here, she also offers advice to other SMEs looking to follow a similar path. Spiritrade was recognised as the Global Drinks Trading Company of the Year in the 2022 UK Enterprise Awards. “Spiritrade is the leading B2B Global Drinks Exchange for ALL Drinks Categories. A Data and Analytics Resource for Drinks Trade Flows around the World.” – Beatriz Pimenta. From the outset, Beatriz made it very clear that Spiritrade has been undergoing major developments on its proprietary technology to accommodate the strong growth endured over the last 18 months. This is a journey that has been initiated on the back of the pandemic and a greater need for flexibility, adaptability and deliverability of services. Indeed, for many, it’s a simple case of continuation. For Spiritrade, the development of the technology behind the brand was simply common sense, allowing it to escalate its growth and offerings to a global network of clients. Of course, this movement is not without its fair share of challenges – namely, in making sure that this technology can keep apace with growth and onboarding, and in convincing companies to change their processes to incorporate Spiritrade’s offerings. Here CEO Jimmy Metta explains further. “All in all, Spiritrade provides a secure solution for brand owners to simplify the trading and logistics process, only having to deliver to one of our partnered warehouses where they can sell on a global scale. At the moment we are growing immensely on the digital front, and this is where our focus lies. We ensure we keep up to date with technological developments and are aware of new trends as they emerge – this is crucial to ensuring we drive innovation within the company and remain Finding Incredible Growth in a Niche Industry: The Story of Spiritrade Apr22340
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