The levels of innovation witnessed so far in the spirits world are only a beginning, according to Becky Davies, who is heading up the new Kingsland Drinks’ spirits subsidiary that was unveiled earlier this week.
Speaking to Harpers about the launch of the company, which has yet to reveal its name, Davies said that the trends in RTD, pre-batched cocktails, hard seltzers, aperitifs and much else would continue to grow, with much more innovation coming down the line.
And, far from slowing the pace of change, the pandemic is likely to accelerate change.
“There’s an exciting future for spirits and the options are endless,” said Davies, who was until December 2019 global sales director at Mangrove.
“There’s a lot of innovation happening and new products coming to fruition.”
This, said Davies, explained the timing of the launch, with the ethos of the company being to focus on building a “portfolio of premium drinks brands that strives for positive change, with sustainable or ethical credentials”.
“We’ve been discussing this project for some time, before Covid happened, it’s incredibly challenging out there but there are always glimmers of light and positivity,” said Davies.
These ‘glimmers of light and positivity’ are, for Davies, driven by consumers that increasingly want to affect change in an uncertain world, and are best able to do so though their purchasing power.
"Consumer insights continue to impress that provenance, authenticity, true innovation, ethical credentials and sustainability are increasingly expected by consumers if they are to buy into a product or brand."
Moreover, according to Davies, categories such as gin, with the myriad possibilities of style and botanical flavours, along with the growth of premium tequila, rum and differing serves for such spirits, have delivered an ever more adventurous and curious consumer.
“I think the way that the world is changing is that a lot more products will adhere to these credentials – people are looking for true innovation, real authenticity, and it's a big a part of what we want to do,” said Davies.
“Consumers are much more educated on topics such as climate change, they can feel helpless, and the way they can affect change is in their buying habits, people want to feel they are making a difference and contributing to positive change.”
While the new subsidiary will continue to draw on Kingsland’s insights and expertise in NPD and marketing, its stand-alone ethos is aimed at delivering a “completely different proposition”.
“If we can do that in the middle of a global pandemic, imagine what we can achieve in the future,” Davies concluded.