Cheshire drinks company Forest Gin toasts export success

Family-owned drinks company Forest Gin has secured its first ever overseas sales with the help of the Government’s Exporting is GREAT campaign.

Forest Gin, which is made in small batches at a facility next to Macclesfield Forest in Cheshire, capitalised on the interest its website was receiving from countries throughout Europe by landing its first export orders with distributors in Germany and Switzerland.

The deals came after Forest Gin met with representatives of the Exporting is GREAT campaign last October. Husband and wife team Karl and Lindsay Bond, the company’s owners, received advice on export strategy and assistance on bonded warehousing and exporting alcohol.

Karl and Lindsay are now looking to export further afield, discussing opportunities that arose from their involvement with a trade mission to China in 2015.

Lindsay said: “The support we received has been invaluable, and I’d particularly like to thank our international trade advisor, Jayne Hunt.

“As a company that had never exported before, what was reassuring was to have someone at the end of a phone to call with any questions or for any advice.”

She added: “This gave us the confidence to start to export and the knowledge as to how to go about it.”

Commenting on the expansion, Karl said he is pleased to bring Forest Gin to “new clients around the world”.

He explained: “We have been involved in a trade mission to China and also met with overseas buyers in the UK, all organised by Exporting is GREAT.

“It has been a great learning experience and given us the information to know how to succeed in various countries.”

Clive Drinkwater, the North West regional director of the Government’s UK Trade & Investment department, said: “Forest Gin is a fantastic example of how, with our support, a business can begin its export journey quickly and start selling its products to new, exciting markets.

“Karl and Lindsay have done fantastically well, and we’ll continue to support them as they look to expand to even more new territories.”

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