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.
What are cost-effective ways to test multiple colour bottle spray variations without paying £100+ per sample?
Members shared two practical approaches to avoid expensive physical sampling iterations: - **Bottle renderer/digital visualization** — Several members recommended using a digital bottle renderer as a cheaper and faster alternative to physical sampling. One member noted they used this approach and offered to connect others with the service provider they worked with. This allows you to visualize different colour spray options digitally before committing to physical samples. - **Felt tips** — One member suggested using felt tips as a quick, low-cost way to test colour variations on actual bottles. The consensus was that digital rendering significantly reduces both cost and turnaround time compared to traditional sampling, making it ideal for testing multiple iterations before investing in production samples.
What should be done with old product labels and inventory stock that still show the previous address when relocating premises?
When moving premises with stock still bearing the old address on labels or packaging, members suggest you don't necessarily need to discard it. The practical approach is to **set up a Royal Mail redirect** for the old address to forward any mail to your new location. This allows you to keep and use existing inventory without waste, while ensuring any customer correspondence sent to the old address still reaches you. Members noted this is a straightforward solution that avoids the cost and environmental impact of reprinting or destroying stock.
What disposal or reuse options are available for spent brewing materials like juniper and grains when local anaerobic digestion plants refuse to accept them?
When standard anaerobic digestion routes close—as happened recently when two major local AD plants refused intake—members have identified several alternatives: - **Animal feed** — Spent grains and similar brewing waste can be diverted to animal feed suppliers or farms as a feedstock. - **Specialty fertiliser projects** — Members have contacts developing waste-to-fertiliser conversion projects; reach out locally to see if your spent materials qualify as input feedstock. - **Food ingredient repurposing** — Spent berries and similar materials may have applications as marinades or other food products rather than waste. **Caveat:** Traditional waste removal (e.g., tank cleaning via Biffa) is costly—one member reported a £3K charge for tank cleaning—so these reuse routes are preferable where feasible. The two major local anaerobic digesters have recently tightened intake due to increased household waste volumes, so backup plans are increasingly necessary.