Craft labels ‘mean nothing’ to consumers

Consumers are not interested in “craft”, “artisan” or “handmade” products and the use of such words does not sell gin, a leading bar consultant has argued.

A leading bar expert has argued consumers have no interest in terms such as “craft”, “handmade” or “artisan”

The terms craft and small batch have driven widespread debate throughout the industry, with brands such as Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Maker’s Mark finding themselves in the midst of various lawsuits claiming they are “misleading” consumers with such claims.

Speaking at The Gin Guild’s second annual Ginposium event held at The London Museum of Transport on Thursday, Nate Brown, co-manager of The London Bar Consultants and Merchant House, said he has never been asked by a consumer for a “craft gin”, nor did he know of any on-trade establishment that had.

“No one has ever asked for a craft gin when they walk into a bar,” said Brown. “No one asks for small batch or artisan.

“Does it sell gin? No, it does not. Craft is a generic word; it’s an eroded term. Where we exist in bars, craft means nothing.”

He continued to explain the words have been bandied around by small producers to create a “world of war” against big brands.

Tyranny of choice

However, Brown argued that small brands are only successful off the back of larger producers who are deliberately catering for consumers interested in localised products or something new.

“Craft is a product of success off these bigger brands,” said Brown. “Consumers need a stepping stone, something that justifies their choice or they don’t want choice at all, and that’s where this big craft void opens up.

“Craft is the banner with which these void fillers march.”

Brown also added there was no reason why small gin producers should be capable of producing better products than larger companies, and that the creation of such competition is “telling bigger brands they are stupid”.

“They are definitely not stupid,” he commented. “It creates an ‘us and them’ and it’s a bit of a problem for the industry, I think. The smaller brands think if they can stay together they can defeat the big guys, but that’s not the case.”

Furthermore, Brown also played down claims that gin is an oversaturated market with too many brands to survive.

“Gin is not an oversaturated market – it exists at the moment because new brands continue to launch and create a tyranny of choice,” he insisted. “If their point of difference remains balanced, that’s how they’ll survive.”