Family-owned UK Chase Distillery will put sustainability to the fore at the inaugural Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo.
A Silver Partner at the Expo (#Virtual Stand WS-S3), Chase is looking forward to virtually meeting new and existing customers and discussing plans to navigate a post COVID-19 recovery in travel retail.
The company intends to share its vision of championing field to bottle spirits and to highlight its range of gins and vodkas.
“The quality of our products isn’t by chance. It takes meticulous dedication, craftsmanship and passion from our team” – William Chase
“We’re a family owned, British field to bottle distillery, creating luxury spirits from our farm in Herefordshire,” the company says. “We set up our business in 2008 to challenge the status quo in the white spirits industry.“If people are interested in the terroir for their wine, or the barrel aging for their whisky, then why shouldn’t they be interested in how their white spirits have been crafted?” Chase Distillery Founder William Chase grew up Herefordshire in the UK. He was a potato farmer, supplying local supermarkets; an occupation which left him feeling “detached, without any comeback from the end consumer”. He decided to turn his potatoes into chips but later thought it would be “more fun” to make vodka. From an idea in 2004, the first batch of vodka was unveiled in June 2008 and Chase Distillery was born. |
Chase Distillery is a proud story-teller.
Chase Distillery Managing Director Andrew Carter said: “We are working closely with our partners to rebuild spirits sales and footfall in this new retail environment. We have seen some extraordinary growth in our global travel retail channel, launching in several key hubs in Europe and Asia and we believe our field to bottle sustainable distillery approach will be the future template for companies, large and small.”
He said the distillery is collaborating with partners to “get back to basics of driving footfall into stores, whilst minimising close contact with consumers”.
“How we promote our brands has become more challenging, and in the short term, pricing and gifting has become our key focus,” Carter added.
Chase Original Potato Vodka is produced in the Chase Distillery’s Fat Betty copper pot still, with 250 British potatoes in every bottle.
Smooth and creamy, it claimed the ‘World’s Best Tasting Vodka’ award at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and is said to be the perfect ingredient for the “ultimate vodka martini”. |
“As part of the next stage in travel retail’s evolution, we are focusing on our omnichannel marketing strategy of educating consumers pre and post their travels, due to limited dwell time to engage with customers in- store.”
Carter underlined the role of enticing pricing and gifting offers to drive travel retail’s short-term recovery. “For future sustained recovery, we are focusing on meeting customers with the products they desire, marketed in the right way and at an attractive price.
“We are working closely with our Chase brand ambassadors on educating our customers on our field to bottle process, and to enhance our in-store customer experience through digital engagement and tastings.”
Chase Distillery recently introduced a 360-degree virtual tour, which showcases its production process from potato field through to bottling line, all on the family farm in Herefordshire.
Chase GB Gin is crafted by copper pot distilling Chase Vodka with 10 botanicals: juniper, coriander seed, bitter almond, cinnamon bark, ginger, cloves, angelica root, liquorice root, lemon peel, and cardamom.
Chase’s flavoured gins include the “zippy and zesty” Chase Pink Grapefruit & Pomelo Gin and “tangy and tart” Chase Rhubarb and Bramley Apple Gin.
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The distillery’s recommended serve is with lots of ice, a premium tonic and a slice of fresh ginger.
Chase Seville Marmalade Gin is crafted with Seville orange peels while Chase Hedgerow Elderflower Gin is floral and crisp, with the perfect blend of rich juniper, subtle spice and floral sweetness.
Williams Elegant 48 Gin is made using 48 varieties of apples from Chase Distillery’s 200-year-old orchards. It is, according to Chase, “designed to make the ultimate martini”.Considering how travel industry partnerships are evolving, Carter said: “All parts of the Trinity are suffering and if ever there was a chance to change the model this is it.
“The influencing of governments to support aviation and tourism needs to be structural and long-term, not just a short-term financial kick. In this new era of travel retail, we are continuing to innovate within the super-premium spirits category and educate consumers on our story.”
Carter emphasised the distillery’s standing as a leader in the craft gin category. “Our field to bottle approach is at the heart of everything we do. It meets the needs of the travelling consumer,” he said.
He added that Chase’s core range – Chase Vodka, Chase GB Gin and Chase Pink Grapefruit – has maintained strong growth across the channel, with exclusive travel retail gifting options such as the Union Jack Chase Vodka giftbox.
“In a time of crisis, it is important that we focus on what we know works with our partners”
“We are continuing to see substantial growth with our super-premium gin flavours, as consumers have increased focus on brands’ provenance and traceability.”
Does the distillery plan to extend its portfolio? Probably not at the moment. “In a time of crisis,” Carter added, “it is important that we focus on what we know works with our partners.
“We are continuing to explore new flavour concepts and exclusives, as well as supporting our growth with large scale experiential activations to encourage passengers into store and drive sales.
“As we say, it’s #allinthechase.”
Of plans for the Virtual Travel Retail Expo, Carter said: “We are looking forward to virtually meeting new and existing customers and discussing plans on how we can support to navigate through the recovery phase, leading to long-term growth. We look forward to sharing our vision of championing field to bottle spirits and our fantastic super premium range of gins and vodkas.”
