Made in the UK Mondays: Warner’s Distillery

How a British brand’s fresh take on a time old classic has created a thirst for its craft drinks worldwide.

When husband and wife duo Tom and Tina Warner started their business in 2012, they took a leaf out of Robert Frost’s book, determined to take the road less travelled.     

While competitors continued to perfect the industry-standard approach to producing gin with factory derived flavours, Tom and Tina instead revisited their Northamptonshire home’s ancient farming roots: opting for the more complex process of sourcing ingredients derived from their own botanical gardens, surrounding hedgerows and natural springs.     

From elderflower and angelica to verbena and lavender, this early experimentation with natural elements–and commitment to 100% natural ingredients–set the scene for the couple’s penchant for reinvention.   

This has since shaped Warner’s Distillery into one of the world’s leading producers of premium gin, multi-brands spirits, and non-alcoholic drinks.  

With sustainability at its core, the B-Corp certified distillery now sells its products to more than 30 countries, including in notoriously hard-to-crack markets like the USA, Australia and the UAE. 

Warner’s export achievements were recently honoured by being named the winner of the ‘Food and Drink’ category in our 2024 Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards.   

We spoke to the founders to find out more about the strategy behind shaking up the drinks industry globally: 

1. How has selling overseas helped your business grow? 

Export has been a volume driver, an eye-opener, a capability stretcher, a strategy changer, and a risk mitigator within Warner’s.   

As an independent, family-owned drinks producer, we would’ve never imagined that exports would make up over 20% of our brand turnover.  

But exports have been key to our strategic growth and we’ve really reaped the benefits. We’ve built a presence across 30 countries internationally delivering over 20% of our branded volume in 2023.  

It’s no secret that gin is a competitive market to break through, particularly in a nation of gin-lovers. And whilst the domestic UK gin market is still of very significant size, it has become heavily saturated and volumetrically plateaued in the last two years. So, our strategy has been to think outside of the UK-sized box.   

We have looked to less cluttered international markets that haven’t yet reached the UK-levels of saturation. As a result, we’ve seen our international volume grow by 17% in 2022; forecast to become almost a third of total brand volume in 2024.

2. What have you learnt along your international sales journey? 

Exporting has opened our eyes to different trends from around the world, enriching our ideation and strategic thinking.  

One solution will never fit all and so we have learnt to be flexible. We’re more structured in our approach, focussed on a core, tailored range in each market, and using the remaining portfolio as seasonal specials or limited time offers, in order to keep our brand fresh and relevant to the local consumer.  

In 2020, the 0% spirit space was a taboo subject in Eastern Europe. However, by 2022 we were first on shelf into supermarkets in Romania and Slovakia, because we had been patient but persistent in our presentation of a category, whose time we knew would come.  This often-overlooked area of the world is becoming a real hotbed for us, with roll out from Slovakia into Czech Republic about to happen. 

There is also the imminent launch of our 0% range in Arabic packaging. We also noticed that many of our international markets have adopted Warner's 0% gin alternative products faster than consumers have in the UK. Our exports to international partners now account for half of our non-alcoholic range sales. 

3. Have you received any business support?  

We have regular meetings with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) where we are given a wealth of expertise from trade policy officials which help to inform our strategy.    

We have also attended various international events with the department which have connected us with key markets that have become a part of our export journey.    

These trade shows have also opened up our network to a new set of suppliers. 

4. What makes your product stand out of the global stage?  

Because the taste for gin is very universal and there is a vibrant gin scene in most of the markets we trade in, we're always aiming to stand out amongst our competitors.  

Our key differentiator is the quality of our drinks made possible by our farm, our people, our sustainability priorities and our proprietary processes, backed up by best-in-class operations and support services. 

Having our UK customers visit the farm has always been an important moment in the sales journey for us.    

But from an international perspective, we have always invited and received as many international visitors as we possibly can. That can be challenging to achieve with overseas buyers, so we’ve adapted and delivered virtual tours to showcase Warner’s farm grown experience to our international partners.  

We have also turned our international team into a data-driven department, helped hugely by the DBT Euromonitor reports. This approach, we believe, gives us an edge on the competitive set.   

5. What’s next for Warner’s?  

We’re incredibly proud of our success so far. We have recently developed into a multi category business, with our range of non-alcoholic spirits being the fastest growth part of the business and in January, launching our Trash & Treasure vodkas and rums to the market where they are getting a great reception from trade.  

Our scale launch in the USA will be a pivotal part of our development, not just in international, but as a key part of the overall business. Pipe-fill orders since July 2023 are already double our expectations.  

We have ambitious growth targets and want to drive 200% branded growth in the next 3 years, with international being a key driving force behind that. 

Every Monday we’re profiling one of our Made in the UK, Sold to the World Award Winners, next up: Munro Vehicles

To access free business support along your international journey, visit great.gov.uk.