New census to show ‘full reality’ of distilling in UK
Olivier Ward, founder of Everglow Spirits, has launched a UK distilling census to provide the spirits industry with valuable data he believes it is currently lacking.
Titled Spirits of the Nation: UK Distilling Census, the survey is ‘the first industry-wide survey’ created to reflect the ‘full reality’ of distilling in the UK, including both large and small producers.
Speaking to The Spirits Business, Ward said: “Unless you’re hyper-connected in the industry, it’s expensive to get data if you haven’t got the big budget. It’s really hard to access independent data without either paying for it or knowing someone very, very specific and asking the right questions. And that’s OK – that’s the way it should be because on one hand, data is commercial and it has a commercial value. On the other side, there are people with intense specialist knowledge who will be able to give you an informed opinion. But for the bulk of it, everyone’s based on assumptions.”
With the UK Distilling Census, Ward hopes the findings will be able to take some of those assumptions away, and replace them with concrete data.
“What really changed for me,” Ward says, “was working heavily in Australia in the past 12-18 months, where I’ve been working in the state of Victoria on an internal strategy on how to essentially spend money supporting local distilleries.” Ward was heavily involved in the first Australian export mission to ProWein in Düsseldorf, Germany, in March this year. “We can see they’re starting to build momentum locally – so how do we help domestically? How do we help with export?
“What has been really clear from working on that is the reason they’re able to do that is that they had data. They invested in building data. They hired amazing firms like Deloitte [Australia] and spent enormous amounts of time surveying and canvassing. But we don’t have any of that here [in the UK]. So, we’re all based on assumptions, not facts, and that’s what really motivated this.”
The census is available to complete online and takes roughly eight to 10 minutes. It will run until the end of September. The findings will be published for free in October.
Ward made the conscious decision not to ask about financial details. It is also not about volume sales. “There’s trust element there that I don’t want to cross. And that’s also not really what this is about,” he explained.
Three core areas of interest
Instead, he is focused on three core areas. First of all, tourism. “Essentially, where and how many people are offering tourism? Is it important to them? What is their current offering? Basically, what I’ve seen is when you have regional investment funds and infrastructure funds, grants and investments, there’s such a massive halo effect in regional communities. So, it’s a much lower hanging fruit than say, changes to taxation, and a much easier win for distillers,” Ward explains.
The second area is about exports. Ward is eager to grasp a better understanding of what producers’ routes to markets look like.
“So, for example, we’re asking questions such as, how many people do you supply? And what I mean is, if you supply a wholesaler, that’s one person. What I’m trying to find out is not necessarily who are you supplying, but how many relationships are you having to deal with?”
This is important, he explained, to help distillers better navigate or seek necessary support in that market. It could help brands amalgamate in-person and digital support options, both in export markets – and domestically. “It’s not about the numbers you’re looking to achieve; it’s more like what is a reasonable expectation for the workload, for the mind space, for the infrastructure,” Ward added.
Thirdly, the census will help with understanding the supply chain inside out.
Ward said: “Distillers aren’t the start of the any spirit’s journey; they are really in the middle. They’re buying from a lot of people and they’re selling to a lot of people. So, actually being able to show that look, by making an investment in a distillery, you’re also allowing them to increase their investment, their purchase power. That benefits other businesses within the UK economy and further down the chain.”
Alternative wins for the industry
Ward is acutely aware of myriad economic and political challenges facing the industry at present, such as recently increased National Insurance contributions, alcohol duty hikes, and international tariff concerns.
This is also why Ward sees added potential value in the UK Distilling Census data: “There are lower-hanging fruit elsewhere, in regional funds, in tourism funds, export support, in local business enterprises that we don’t have advocates for, or the data with which to help people.
“That’s where this fills the gap and that’s what my aim is, to go, look, let’s keep on having this tax conversation – because it’s a massive problem. Let’s keep on having this debate on duty rates – let’s absolutely focus on that.
“But at the same time, if you’re a three-person team based in a rural part of the UK somewhere, let’s also help you with some of those other elements by providing independent data that’s freely available.”
UK distillers can complete the Spirit of the Nation: UK Distilling Census online until 30 September 2025.
