Wednesday, 01 Sep 2010
“The advice and funding from UKTI South East has been incredibly useful to us – the Solo grant helped us attend a wine and spirits trade show in Germany in March, which generated several excellent leads and raised the profile of the company”.
Martin Dawson, Broker’s London Dry Gin
Broker’s London Dry Gin Bottle
World’s premier spirits experts tip their hats to Broker’s London Dry Gin
Paul Pacult, the judging chairman of the Challenge, said: “Broker’s London Dry Gin has achieved an impressive score of 97 (out of 100)/Extraordinary Ultimate Recommendation, beating many big-name gins over a deep field of world-class gins.”
Established in Shepperton 12 years ago by brothers Martin and Andy Dawson, the company now exports to dozens of overseas markets, including Australia, Austria, Cambodia, Canada, Germany and France.
Co-founder and managing director Martin Dawson, who had worked in the spirits industry for 20 years, saw an opening in the market for a high-quality dry gin, and set himself the goal of developing a gin with a strong link to London that would succeed in markets around the world – a goal that support from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has helped the company achieve.
In 2009, having developed Broker’s London Dry Gin to a traditional recipe that blends ingredients from across the globe, Martin approached UKTI South East for help in refining and expanding its export strategy. Since then, he has been working closely with International Trade Adviser (ITA) Peter Warren.
Peter said: “Broker’s London Dry Gin is a specialist, traditional product that is set to do very well in world markets.
“Last year, I signed the company up to UKTI’s Passport to Export programme of tailored support for SMEs businesses to develop international markets. Martin and I identified several key exhibitions and, via the UKTI Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP), he qualified for £1,000 Solo support funding to help with exhibition costs.”
Martin said: “The advice and funding from UKTI South East has been incredibly useful to us – the Solo grant helped us attend the wine and spirits trade show ProWein in Germany in March, which generated several excellent leads and raised the profile of the company. We plan to attend again next March, with additional funding from UKTI, and secure further deals in Germany and other markets.”
After its success in winning the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, Broker’s Gin is looking to expand in the USA. This autumn, they will be attending two events in New York, the Ultimate Spirits Blast in October, and the Cook Eat Drink Live Show, in November.
The last word must go to Paul Picult, summing up Broker’s Gin’s success at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge: “This marks a significant achievement for this stellar brand, one that acknowledges the great distilling tradition of England.”
Contacts
If you are looking to develop your business overseas contact you local International Trade Advisor or:
UKTI South East
Tel: 08452 789 600
Email: info@uktisoutheast.com