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.
Are spirits competitions and awards worth entering—do they drive real commercial value or sales?
Mixed returns: members report awards can add credibility and open distributor doors, but consumer recognition is minimal and many competitions lack rigour. **Value drivers:** - **B2B/distributor reach** — One judge noted awards get your liquid tasted by many people, including distributors looking for quality, and have opened doors that way. Useful for building trade relationships rather than consumer pull. - **Monopoly tender eligibility** — Some awards (particularly **San Francisco** and **IWSC**) carry weight with government monopolies and LCBO consideration; less certain for domestic UK buyers. - **Launch momentum** — A major win (e.g. "Best London Dry in England") can serve as a good launch platform and generate social media coverage from the award organisers. - **Trade credibility** — Members report using awards to add authenticity to claims (e.g. full gin taste at lower ABV) when approaching buyers and investors. **Significant caveats:** - **Quality control issues** — Multiple members reported serious problems: tasting notes that bore no relation to the product entered, judges appearing to have tasted the wrong product, and botanicals from one product mixed up with another. One member called IWSC judging "a complete shambles." - **Low consumer impact** — Trade buyers don't typically connect with these awards; they're described as "wallpaper" from a consumer perspective and not a meaningful differentiator on retail shelf. - **Expensive with diminishing returns** — Members suggest entering many awards yields marginal ROI; one brand has stepped back after winning multiple medals. The entry fee and time investment isn't guaranteed to translate to sales. - **Low barriers to entry** — One member noted the London Spirits Competition has "quite a low bar," meaning awards are easier to win but less distinctive as a result. **Strategy:** Most useful if you're actively pursuing wholesale/distribution or monopoly listings. Less valuable purely for consumer marketing or if you're betting on retail shelf visibility.
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.
Is it worth paying to feature products on wholesaler price lists and printed brochures?
The consensus is that wholesaler brochures deliver poor ROI for most members. Members reported **no measurable uplift in sales** from featuring in printed wholesaler price lists, despite high costs for relatively small ad space. The fundamental issue is relevance—**printed brochures are increasingly ignored** by end users (restaurants, bars), with one member noting they personally threw them straight in the bin. Members also noted that **wholesalers have lost significant customer numbers recently**, reducing the audience reach further. **Cost versus benefit is unattractive**: pricing for brochure placement is expensive relative to the space offered and the actual sales impact. A few members suggested value exists only **if paired with promotional activity or campaigns**, but this remained the minority view. Most members in the discussion found it **not worth pursuing as a standalone tactic**.