Scott Wilson-Laing - Founder of WL Distillery
Where did the idea for WL Distillery come from?
Having had a few different roles from Archaeology to working in a lighthouse to operational roles in a few industries, I was at a point in my life like many people where I was in a role I had been in for a few years and looking for a new challenge. Once I made the decision, I started by making a list of things that I enjoyed, thought I was good at liked and was interested in. While making that list a few key elements surfaced and during this process I was fortunate enough to find a course that taught theoretical distillation.
Why gin?
One of the main positives for me was it allowed me to lean into my creative side and explore a range of flavours and botanicals while creating the gin. The first flavour I experimented with was based on my grandad’s garden. This was very personal to me and evokes memories from my childhood. Almost like bottling up the flavours I and many other people grew up with. Plus it’s a shared experience that really resonates with me having spent my childhood raiding the fruit trees and bushes as did my daughter when she was younger.
Tell us about the next step.
Once I had completed the course, I purchased a very small still and began to experiment with different botanicals and flavours. From there friends and family began to ty it and complimented the gin. I thought they were just being polite and brushed it away but their insistence on how nice it was and that I ‘really had something here’ allowed this to develop into the planning stage and development that would eventually be WL Distillery.
How challenging were the early years?
To be honest it was quite challenging. Setting up a distillery is no small task and the initial set up in finding a location, getting the correct licences, installing equipment and developing the recipes and processes take a very long time before the first bottle even leaves the site. I spent the most part of 2019 setting all this up with a plan to launch our products in the Spring of 2020.
I had planned to focus more on the B2B side of sales to start with and to work with bars, restaurants and stores doing a lot of tasting and activation events to showcase the brand as much as we could.
Sadly that wasn’t meant to be and all of these plans had to be shelved or cancelled with the onset of Covid and the nation going into lockdown a few weeks before our planned launch. This was particularly difficult as bringing a new brand and product to market especially in the food and drink sector people need to be able to experience it, to hold it, to taste it but this was impossible with the restrictions in place. So those first few months looked very different to what we had planned and mapped out.
What happened next?
During the period of setting up the business I was already networking and getting to meet and know businesses in the region including some charities. When Covid first started there was a clear lack of available PPE in particular hand sanitizer. Some of the charities I was aware of were already struggling to get their hands on this and that would have resulted in them not being able to support people. I researched a World Health Organisation recipe they used when deployed and had the vast majority of the raw materials and equipment to start to manufacture hand sanitizer using the materials we had planned to use to make our Gin. Once word got out of what I was doing calls and emails kept coming so I busied myself for the first 6 months of covid spending my days making batches, then bottling them then distributing them across the North to the NHS, Emergency Services, Charities and high risk individuals.
Is it a period you look back on with pride?
Very much so. I am glad that during that difficult time I was able to help so many people. Being one of the first individuals to start making hand sanitizer during covid I was delighted that after the pandemic examples of our hand sanitizer along with equipment and an interview was been archived in the National Science Museum in London for future generations to learn from. For this work I was nominated to represent the North East as one of the Queens Baton Bearers for the 2022 Commonwealth games. Once the supply chain caught up and hand sanitizer became more available we were able to return to our core business and launched our first gin later that year online. Followed by a second flavour the following year with both going on to win international awards.
When you were finally able to refocus on the B2B market what helped you stand out in a notoriously competitive sector?
First and foremost its the gin itself. Although I may be biased they are delicious and unique flavours that really resonate with people. Following closely it’s the story behind the business and the products. People are very interested in the business and about the gins especially the one based on my Grandads Garden. From there its down to relationship building which we have spent the last few years developing working relationships with partnerships with buyers, distributors and venues in the hospitality and culture sector. Its very exciting when these relationships develop and you get to see a product you have made sitting proudly on a shelf or behind a bar. I still get a buzz from that every time.
How supportive have the people of the North East been to the business you’ve built?
Setting up a business in this part of the world is fantastic. The people here are so interested and invested in our product, its story and its origins. They really want to work with us and really want to understand what we’re doing and why we do it. When we launched a Christmas gift set we couldn’t get it out of the door quickly enough. Within a 10-mile radius of the distillery the sales were off the scale and I saw first-hand how North East people like to support North East businesses. I think the personal element of the business and the story around my grandad resonates with the people from this region. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to take our products on international trade missions to India and Dubai to showcase the North East.
How important is it that you remain hands on, even as the business grows?
Its funny you should ask that as I’m just taking a short break from bottling and labelling an order for us to have this chat. The very nature of setting up the business and the effect of covid meant it was just me for a very long time. Most entrepreneurs end up wearing many hats during the start up period of their business. I’m still very much involved in all aspects of the process to maintain the quality of our products. As we have grown and are making a lot more products for ourselves and others its probably more important than ever to be in the process from the initial R&D all the way to the finished 212 June 2026 product leaving the front door. It’s all about the liquid and the quality of the ingredients and that’s what I love. That’s why I started WL Distillery in the first place. I like to be creative and make products that people will love and want to share with others.
What’s the plan for the next 12 months?
Theres lots of exciting projects over the next 12 months. We are currently working on new products to expand our own brand as well as new products for partners we work with in the hospitality and culture sectors. With our strong foundation of loyal fans here in the North East we aim to continue to take our products and showcase the North East across the rest of the UK and continue our exporting plans to take the taste of the North East internationally.
www.wldistillery.com