The global spirits industry is in the midst of another year of change and challenge. Producers are faced with ongoing market instability, rapidly shifting consumer trends, and the endless quest for innovation and ‘what’s new’ to keep drinkers interested. Spirits brands can’t afford to stand still if they want to stay relevant and profitable.
One company that is helping producers succeed in these volatile times and stay a step ahead of the industry curve is Young Spirits.
Young Spirits is a next-generation spirits bottling and brands company. Founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs and spirits enthusiasts John Ferguson and Alex Harrison, the duo have established their business as a progressive, sustainable partner for companies in the global spirits sector. They specialise in new product development and branding projects for clients of any scale: from exclusive ultra-premium private bottlings to large commissions for global brands, with each client having a dedicated Account Liaison.
Their ambition is to lead the sector and deliver a complete end-to-end service for companies: from developing new brands to processing, bottling and distribution – in particular for the booming super-premium and luxury end of the spirits market.
Co-founder Alex Harrison explains: ‘In a previous life I was a customer looking for a modern bottling service and couldn’t find it – and spotted that golden ‘gap in the market’. Today, meeting customer needs, providing brilliant customer service and anticipating and exceeding their needs – is our guiding principle.
Alongside it is innovation, and ensuring we never stop evolving our service to add even greater value to our clients’ businesses, whether that’s NPD, sustainability, technology or staying ahead of new trends. It’s this approach that has helped propel us from one client on day one to the busy stable of over 250 global brands and businesses we work with today’.
Despite starting just before the pandemic, the business has delivered five years of rapid growth: from a two-man outfit with one client to a buzzing one-stop-shop facility on the outskirts of Edinburgh, where their 40-strong team manages over 200 industry clients.
The secret of Young Spirits’ success to date is their unwavering commitment to innovation, sustainability, quality and a partnership approach to working with clients.
They offer four bottling lines of varying scales, highly specialized processing equipment including a chill filtration system; extensive racking and warehousing; and a team of dedicated spirits specialists who will white glove any project with care and attention to detail. Sustainability is a central pillar, and clients can rest assured that every process, piece of equipment and piece of packaging meets rigorous environmental standards.
A new model bottling service
Whether it’s the launch of a new spirits brand, a new release from a well-known brand, or the refresh of a classic, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to processing, bottling and packaging. Young Spirits’ selection of dry goods, from bottles and boxes to caps, corks, and wax takes the burden away from brands and into the hands of specialists who can source the best quality solutions with efficiency and expertise. They are experts in Scotch Whisky, Rum, Gin and a wide variety of spirits from across the category.
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Sustainability
Alex and John put sustainability at the core of everything they did from the start, without compromise. The team was extremely proud to secure Carbon Neutral status in 2023, partnering with Make It Wild, an organization that offers carbon offsetting through tree planting in the UK, to reduce their site’s carbon footprint and remove carbon from the atmosphere. Young Spirits is also involved in other sustainability initiatives, such as donating unwanted casks to Move On Wood Recycling to be used as furniture or planters.
John’s love of Africa and wildlife conservation also sparked the creation of their passion project brand, Uhuru Spirits, with 10% of net sales of every bottle of rum or whisky sold supporting the cause. As well as being the right thing to do, it helps to build purpose and a positive culture amongst the team.
Bulk sales and spirit processing
As experts with a deep knowledge of grain, spirits, casks and maturation, the business can source the best bulk spirits from a trusted network of distillers and makers around the world.
When it comes to bottling, there is no minimum order. They can handle small, bespoke projects right up to large scale volumes of 100,000 units and over.
Their bottling lines consist of pneumatic and volumetric filling machines, in-line labelling machines for the front, back, and neck labels, as well as 3-part filtration systems and a dedicated miniature line that can run 2cl – 10cl bottles. There is also a capability for innovative pouch and test tube filling.
A commitment to quality
Quality is top of the agenda for the business and in summer 2024, the business celebrated its accreditation by one of the food and drink industry’s most prestigious quality assurance schemes: Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000. It’s an indicator of the high quality and operational excellence being delivered by the Young Spirits team across spirit processing, bottling and distribution services for their fast-growing stable of spirits clients.
Warehousing, fulfilment and distribution
With modern storage facilities, the Young Spirits bonded warehouse is purpose-built with plenty of room for wet and dry goods, along with long and short-term storage for casks and pallets. The business can also send finished bottles across the country and around the world with a distribution partner that does all the heavy lifting, including export documentation, packing lists and commercial invoices.
Alongside the core Young Spirits service, the business is building a flourishing portfolio of its own spirits brands. This includes Ferg & Harris, a luxury single malt brand which pairs exquisite whiskies with different wood finishes for a truly distinctive dram; and Uhuru, the spirits brand with a mission at its heart. Young Spirits also has expertise in cask and bulk trading.
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