Ben Franks: ‘Looking Back, Forging Ahead’
In the first of our summer Q&A series, Canned Wine Co. co-founder Ben Franks tales stock of the trade.
How has business been for you in the first half of 2025 and how do things compare to where you were last year?
We’re on track to double our revenue this year, which relative to the wine trade as a whole is an impressive jump from 2024. Nevertheless, customers are wary about trying new products and formats, so we need to work hard to convince them that the risk will pay off.
What have been the biggest challenges and headaches so far this year and how have you sought to mitigate those?
The duty changes have hampered our availability through some channels. Wholesalers have done their best but changes to listings and abv-determined pricing has been slow and this has resulted in stock availability issues. We’ve worked hard to overcome these and supplied directly in some cases to secure consistent availability.
What are you most proud of achieving this year in terms of driving the business forward?
We expanded our product range and introduced The Copper Crew organic Italian wines into KeyKegs for wine on tap. I think we timed that perfectly. The liquid waste challenge in hospitality has been eating venue’s profits and kegs help eliminate most of that. They also help operationally, speeding up service times and using less storage space. We’re already installing and working with restaurant groups, venues, taprooms, airline lounges and festival bars. It’s very exciting.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, what is the biggest cause for concern?
Everyone talks about the rollercoaster of running a start-up. I’ve launched three wine businesses in ten years, all of them are still trading, and the thing I’ve noticed is the lack of investment in FMCG or product-based business from UK capital, especially with institutional investors. We are a risk averse culture, which makes the businesses that survive this space all the more special. Wine is a brilliant business for the passionate solo entrepreneur or large, established organisation – but it’s merciless for the middle-sized venture. Margins are tight, people are in high demand, and the market is saturated with choice. Those shaking it up and building something new need to be supported. I’ve talked before about the fact we’re living through a ‘golden age’ for innovation in wine, despite all the adversity of declining consumption, and there’s an amazing opportunity to get behind that.
What single thing could the Government do to best improve trading conditions and the success of the drinks sector?
The easy answer is to revert duty back to the single rate for full strength wines, as to not promote the manipulation of wine but encourage its provenance and character. But reverting will cause the same admin headache as implementing it in the first place. Similarly, with EPR, it’s got its heart in the right place (reducing waste) but its delivery is murky and confusing at best. The biggest single thing I’d like to see the government do from here is bring leaders from the wine and spirits industry to the table, especially smaller business, and listen to them as business owners – actually listen and make informed decisions to support small business.
What trends are you seeing in the drinks world at the moment, and how do you expect that to change going into the autumn?
Like I’ve said, we’re going through this wonderful period. We’ve got our kegs, our premium cans, our friends at Vinca are leading the way with aluminium bottles, English wineries are planting grapes like Albarino and Gamay, we’re discovering wines with weird and wonderful grapes from corners of the world we didn’t even know made wine, natural wine is bringing stories to our dinner tables, and independent vinotecas are popping up in communities all over the country. So while the sun might drift behind clouds in the autumn, there’s so much bright new stuff to explore in wine and we need to shout about it better and more often.
Any other predictions for the second half of the year?
Proper, fresh wine on tap coming near you – so you don’t have to have last weekend’s dregs from the bottle on the dusty back shelf!
Quick fire questions…
France, Italy or Spain? Italy
Georgia, Greece or UK? I can’t choose. All three!
‘Normal’ or ‘natural’ wine? Normal
Cocktails or straight sippin’ spirits? Straight sippin’, unless it’s a French 75!
Mixologist or mix it at home? Both – but a mixologist will do it better
Aperitif preference? Extra dry martini made with Smeaton’s Bristol Method gin
Michelin-starred or cook at home? I love both
Perfect drink occasion? Ad hoc, with a good friend
Desert island treat? Ice cold Limoncello with the sand between my toes
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