Ask the Collective
The questions independent drinks founders ask most — answered. Distilled from years of community knowledge so the good stuff never disappears in the feed again.
How much commercial return do spirits competition awards (e.g., London Spirits, IWSC) actually deliver—do they drive sales conversations or are they mainly for marketing collateral?
Members' experience suggests awards have **limited direct sales impact** but can be useful for **marketing and distribution leverage** if deployed strategically. **Direct commercial conversations:** The blind judging format means judges don't see who made the product, so don't expect to network with them or generate sales leads during the competition itself. Several members entered competitions and saw no follow-up commercial interest afterwards, despite winning medals. **Marketing and retailer credibility:** Where awards work is as a **sticker for retailers** and **credentials for distributors**—if you're trying to convince buyers that your product is credible, a gold or silver from a recognised body helps. One member noted that winning "same or better than bigger-well-established brands" helps build consumer trust and can be leveraged in marketing. **Quality concerns:** Members flagged **significant issues with tasting notes accuracy**—multiple people reported receiving shelf-wobblers or labels with incorrect botanical descriptions that don't match the spirit. One member received notes crediting a botanical not in their gin. This raises questions about judging rigor, particularly at **IWSC** (which had similar accuracy problems reported). **International variation:** Awards carry different weight by channel and geography. One member noted their non-alcoholic brand won double golds in San Francisco but got very different results in New York with the same body—so the same award may mean different things to different markets. **Frequency:** Members suggest entering **once every 2–3 years** rather than repeatedly, unless you believe a previous result was unfair. One entry per year is the lower end; entering multiple times annually is usually not cost-effective unless you have a specific channel goal and a new product to test. **The caveat:** To get actual ROI, you need to know **how to leverage the award for your specific channel**—it's not automatic. Simply winning a gold from IWSC may not drive sales unless you actively use it in distributor pitches or retailer negotiations. Also watch for scams in award bodies (one member noted some are legitimate, others not)—vet before paying entry fees.
What should you do if a competitor has registered a trademark for messaging or a brand mark that you have been using since before their registration?
If a competitor has trademarked your brand's messaging or mark, act quickly—your IP is your equity. The key steps are: **Immediate actions:** - **Gather evidence** of your prior use (packaging, media coverage, marketing materials, trade show presence, etc.) and document that the competitor had not used it before their registration. Members recommend collecting as much documentation as possible—one member had around 1,000 documents evidencing their use. - **Check the registration status** and determine if it is still within the opposition period (typically around 3 months from publication), which strengthens your challenge. - **Seek legal advice immediately** from an IP lawyer to assess your options and the costs involved. **Challenge and negotiation:** - You can **challenge the award of the trademark** by submitting evidence of your prior use and their lack of use before registration. Members highlighted that this process can be lengthy and expensive—a reference case (Bacardi's challenge of an "Angels Envy" trademark) started with £600 in fees but became a protracted battle. - Some members suggest starting with an **informal email** to the competitor if you believe the infringement may not be intentional, to gauge their response before escalating to legal action. - **Weigh the cost-benefit carefully**, considering the size of your competitor and their financial resources, as legal proceedings can be time-consuming and costly. **Jurisdictional note:** US trademark law is more favorable to your position than UK/EU law, as it is based on actual usage rather than who registered first. **Warning:** This is often an infuriating and resource-heavy process; get legal counsel to confirm timelines and your best path forward.
How can small craft distillers compete with large brands given the current duty structure and lack of small producer relief?
Small UK distillers face structural disadvantages compared to large producers, with no equivalent to small brewers' relief despite years of WSTA lobbying. The community identifies two main competitive pressures: **Structural disadvantage:** Unlike beer (which has small brewers relief), spirits have no duty relief for small producers. This puts craft distillers at an immediate disadvantage to both large brands and other alcohol categories. Wine producers face similar challenges—even the slight duty reduction on sparkling wine was offset by increases on still wines, with no small production relief. **Cash-flow and lead-time impact:** Long advance notice of duty changes favours large producers with substantial cash reserves. They can prepay duty on anticipated stock and simultaneously raise prices, while smaller producers lack the cash pile to absorb this strategy. The long lead time into implementation also creates perverse market behaviour: major cash-and-carries like Dhamecha reportedly increased pre-duty purchasing from £10m to £40–45m in July alone, disproportionately buying mainstream brands (Smirnoff, Bacardi, JD) which are easier to flip quickly. This created a four-month demand collapse for smaller brands during the purchasing window. **Broader pressures compound this:** Small producers are simultaneously hit by weak sterling, bottle supply shortages, Brexit customs friction, cost-of-living crisis, energy price inflation, and wage pressures—none of which affect large competitors proportionally. **Advocacy routes members are exploring:** - **Direct MP contact:** Writing to or securing face-to-face meetings with local MPs, who collectively represent dozens of constituencies across the membership. - **Social media pressure:** Messaging politicians (Sunak, Hunt) on Twitter to request small distillers relief, with the goal of reaching Special Advisors. - **Petition/signature campaign:** A DocuSign petition posted in the community, targeting 200+ signatures. With ~350 craft distillers estimated in the UK, the membership could potentially gather a significant proportion. - **Industry body consolidation:** A suggestion that distilling might need its own dedicated organisation (like those in the US) rather than riding two horses within broader alcohol industry bodies. **Caveat:** The community notes that large players like Pernod and Diageo are unlikely to voluntarily apply pressure for relief that would help smaller competitors. Small brewers relief was historically won in 2004, possibly because politicians of that era had personal affinity with real ale—a context that may not apply to spirits.