This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
Partner content
Saint Sithney Gin has firmly landed
Cornwall’s fastest-growing gin brand is on the move, with the rest of the UK – and the world – on its hit list.
*This feature was originally published in the August 2024 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
Saint Sithney Distillery is located near the coastal village of Porthleven in West Cornwall, and while the parish of Saint Sithney may be small, the gin brand’s achievements are not. Its founders – Greville and Wendy Richards – have a background in produce, with Greville’s company being a major national supplier to retailers including Tesco and Sainsbury’s, with annual sales of £44 million (US$57.3m). Saint Sithney, however, is a separate entity, and Greville isn’t keen on a collaboration. “I don’t think anyone wants a broccoli-flavoured gin,” he laughs. “But we do use some of the expertise within the produce business to help technically – with audits such as Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA). We can also get assistance from the commercial team to set up export routes for the gin; the produce business has a strong export market.
“To do the job properly, it’s a lot of investment. With that investment, we want to make sure we’re doing the right things.” The Richards have certainly invested a lot, totalling around £1 million “We’ve done it without any crowdfunding,” adds Greville. The Richards plan to eventually build a dedicated distillery and visitor centre with a restaurant on their farm, including orchards and fields growing key botanicals such as juniper, elderflower and blackthorn, as well as more niche herbs.
Wendy takes charge of the distilling, having worked with Matt Servini and Vanessa Rapier of The Craft Distilling Business to get trained and create a winning gin recipe. The brand is currently producing nearly 1,200 bottles a week, after just eight months of trading.
Other major milestones hit early include the brand’s host of on-trade listings, including with Cornwall-based chef Jude Kereama, who stocks the gin at his restaurants, Kota and Kota Kai. “Just when I thought I was over gin, Saint Sithney has rejuvenated my taste buds with its wonderful balance of cardamom and orange. I absolutely love it,” said Kereama.
Greville adds: “In North Cornwall, we have listings with The Pig Hotel, and a relationship with Henk De Villiers Ferreira, who runs The Halfway House and Trevisker’s Kitchen.
“It’s also stocked in various establishments moving up through the southern counties, with a strong emphasis put into the Cotswolds at present and a recent listing with Tom Kerridge in London.” Declan Wilkins, Kerridge’s bar manager, described the gin as having “great balance and very refreshing flavours – perfect for a Martini.”
The plan isn’t necessarily to focus on the on-trade, however. “We’re getting a very, very good pub and bar following, with a number of restaurants and hotels,” adds Greville. The brand is also in talks with a major brewery chain. “This opportunity could be very exciting for Saint Sithney,” he continues. “It opens up the door to considerably more sales as well as creating more brand awareness nationally.
“A key to securing distributing partners as a new brand has been to invest heavily in their promotional weeks and sales mechanisms. We are never afraid to invest in our brand.”
Greville believes that his connections in the supermarket world will help the brand grow in the off-trade too. “I’m hoping that our relationship with Tesco, which we’ve had since 2005, will quickly let us through the door with the gin,” he explains. Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and M&S are also targets for the brand – Saint Sithney is stocked in the Great Cornish Food Store at the Waitrose store in Truro. “We get a great response from them because they measure everything with repeat bookings. We get a lot of repeat bookings from people – we’ve never started in an establishment and had anyone finish with us.”
To build on this quick growth, the Richards have appointed two area sales managers for the southwest and southeast of England. Next on the cards is a permanent export coordinator, who will help take Saint Sithney to the rest of the world. “The intention is to turn it into a global brand,” explains Greville. “There are a number of countries around the world where a lot of gin is drunk. We would like to get those avenues set up with a distributor in each country.”
Saint Sithney is taking its marketing plans seriously, with a fleet of branded lorries on the road and a £120,000 social media campaign due to begin. Social media is a huge focus for Saint Sithney as, alongside its success in the on- and off-trade, 16% of its sales are through direct online sales.
Expanding the range
Much has been achieved with just one product, but there’s more to come. Saint Sithney’s second expression, an orange-flavoured gin, will debut soon – with the Richards anticipating the line will eventually total five. The brand’s flagship expression comes in at 42% ABV, so a navy-strength gin is not likely to be on the cards, but a 0.0%-ABV ‘gin’ alternative is an option, along with two other flavours – likely a pink gin and an elderflower. “We can grow elderflower really well in Cornwall, and it would be nice to have that story,” explains Greville.
The pair also plan to diversify into other spirits categories, with a Cornish vodka in the works. Greville also has his eyes on the next move: an agave spirit. “We’re not allowed to call it a Tequila, obviously, as it’ll be produced in Cornwall,” he explains, but he is researching the legalities of marketing it.
A lot has been achieved for the brand, which is yet to celebrate its first anniversary – which will take place in December this year – but its journey is a testament to the two founders’ commitment to quality, innovation and strategic growth.
Related news