SB meets… Starka Distillery
The historic home of aged rye vodka Starka is currently up for auction, with the sale including the brand, intellectual property, production facilities, and ageing inventory. Distillery spokesperson David Lesperance offers an insight into the sale, the market, and where a potential new owner may find the greatest value in their purchase.
When preparing a distillery like Starka for sale, how do you begin assessing its value beyond the balance sheet?
Due to issues with a prior purchaser, Starka has been tied up in litigation. While this litigation is in the past and a purchaser would acquire Starka free and clear, bottling has not occurred in the past few years. While this delay prevents a potential buyer from considering financial benchmarks, the barrelled Starka has been quietly sitting in the dark, ageing and increasing in value.
In considering the future value of Starka, a buyer needs to appreciate that they are working with the only source of aged Starka in the world. The fact that any competitor would not be able to introduce an equivalent product to the market for a minimum of a decade is a significant moat to entry.
Starka has significant store of aged spirits from 1949 onward. Combined with an easily assessable historical site in the middle of a historic Hanseatic League city, there is no comparable opportunity available in the world.
In today’s market, where do you see the strongest appetite for acquiring legacy distilleries?
Along with the significant Polish diaspora in Europe and the Americas, Starka is attractive as a legacy destination distillery for upcoming markets in Asia. All these markets are starved for unique spirits with an authentic history.
Do you think the future value of distilleries lies more in production and distribution capabilities, or in their potential as lifestyle, tourism, and hospitality experiences?
Luxury spirits consumers want to be able to tell a story to their friends with whom they share their drink. Being able to talk about and show videos of their visit to the location where their shared spirit was distilled and bottled is an essential element of this experience.
The advantage that Starka has is that one can step off a high-speed train from Berlin and walk metres to our distillery. This sure beats driving hours and being eaten alive by midges if you stop en route.
The Starka tradition is that parents would lay down a barrel at the birth of a child, which was to be drunk at their weddings. The opportunity to celebrate a newborn by a parent, friend or relative by purchasing a personal barrel is a unique gift-giving opportunity.
What have been the biggest surprises or misconceptions you’ve encountered from prospective buyers during this process?
To most people, vodka is a clear, almost tasteless drink bottled immediately upon distillation. Starka, while it starts as a clear vodka, is transformed into an aged distilled spirit during its minimum 10 years in the barrel.
Similar to other luxury brown spirits aged for such long periods, Starka develops a depth and complexity that is not usually associated with the word ‘vodka’.
For founders or owners considering a sale, what advice would you give about preparing a distillery for market?
While your distillery may be known in the local market, remember that your market is global. This requires educating the international market. However, giving the market position of Starka, time and effort spent on reintroducing Starka to the modern world will pay exceptional dividends.
Looking back, what do you believe ultimately determines whether a distillery acquisition succeeds: scale and capital, or stewardship and respect for the brand’s legacy?
While sufficient capital is always necessary, the key to success is having a legacy brand and protecting it. This requires the passion to make all decisions with a view to how this preserves and enhances the brand.
In a climate where many premium spirits brands are competing for investment, what makes a heritage distillery like Starka uniquely attractive?
Unlike some premium brands that lack history or ‘home’, Starka is the only distillery in the world carrying on this centuries-old tradition. It also has a 150-year-old heritage site that previously attracted more than 10,000 visitors annually with minimal tourism marketing. This was a result of the distillery’s location in the middle Szczecin, a historical Hanseatic city which is just over 100km by high-speed rail from Berlin.
What would your ideal future for Starka look like under new ownership, and what kind of buyer do you hope ultimately takes the brand forward?
Starka needs an owner who has the passion, know-how and capability to steward its one-of-a-kind, significant aged inventory in a way that maximises its value.
By partnering with one of several Polish developers of historical commercial sites, the long-term return on the spirit’s business can generate significant revenue by building on the excess development portion of the site.
Interested parties have until 1 June 2026 to submit bids, with a potential auction scheduled for 12 June.
To read more on this opportunity, visit www.starkavodka.co, or to receive more information about the sale, contact David Lesperance david@lesperanceassociates.
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