By: admin On: 26/05/2010 10:50:00 In: What's Hot
This article was published by BBC news online on the 16th May 2010, written by Will Smale.
It is enough to make a patriotic Russian need a stiff drink to get over the shock - an English vodka has been voted the best in the world.
Chase Vodka has triumphed in the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating 249 rivals from around the globe, including Russia and Poland's finest.
Tasted under blind conditions (all the bottles were covered to maintain anonymity), Chase was preferred by a 30-strong panel of independent judges.
And instead of being produced by one of the global drink giants in a huge, automated distillery, Chase is made on a farm in Herefordshire - from potatoes.
The spuds are all grown in the farm's own fields, before being added to water, fermented, and then distilled and bottled. It all takes place on site.
First produced in 2008, Chase is the brainchild of potato farmer William Chase, the man who founded posh crisp company Tyrrell's.
When he sold Tyrrell's to a private equity group that same year, Mr Chase realised he needed to find something else to do, and the vodka business was born.
Despite having no distilling experience, he decided to aim for the gourmet end of the vodka market and use his crops of traditional variety potatoes instead of the more usual wheat or rye grains.
Now making 1,000 bottles a week - a drop in the ocean compared with the best-known global vodka names - Mr Chase says demand is soaring in the US thanks to winning the San Francisco competition.
"Winning the award has been fantastic for us," he says.
"It has really helped to build up the brand's profile, which is vital. You can have the best product in the world, but it won't sell if the brand isn't strong."
'Owner's personality'
The term 'brand' is an elusive concept, but it is vital to get right if a product is going to fly off the shelves, regardless of whether it is produced by a multi-national company or a small firm with just a few employees.
A brand is essentially the combination of a product's name and personality, and whether it is successful can be judged by how well it connects to its customers. And therefore how well it sells.
Far from an exact science, a brand can be built up by advertising or wider marketing campaigns, winning an award, or simply having the best possible logo and packaging.
And, as Mr Chase explains, creating a successful brand need not cost much money.
"When I started the crisp company, I didn't spend any money on advertising," he says.
"Instead it was just me and what I knew was a great product visiting hundreds of little independent stores.
"So essentially I was the brand, and I was friendly and enthusiastic.
"If I had been an arrogant jerk, then the shops wouldn't have taken Tyrrell's crisps, regardless of how good they are. The owners wouldn't have wanted to see if the crisps sold.
"So, certainly when you are starting your own business, the brand is your personality, you have to put your own magic into it."
Chase Vodka has triumphed in the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating 249 rivals from around the globe, including Russia and Poland's finest.
Tasted under blind conditions (all the bottles were covered to maintain anonymity), Chase was preferred by a 30-strong panel of independent judges.
And instead of being produced by one of the global drink giants in a huge, automated distillery, Chase is made on a farm in Herefordshire - from potatoes.
The spuds are all grown in the farm's own fields, before being added to water, fermented, and then distilled and bottled. It all takes place on site.
First produced in 2008, Chase is the brainchild of potato farmer William Chase, the man who founded posh crisp company Tyrrell's.
When he sold Tyrrell's to a private equity group that same year, Mr Chase realised he needed to find something else to do, and the vodka business was born.
Despite having no distilling experience, he decided to aim for the gourmet end of the vodka market and use his crops of traditional variety potatoes instead of the more usual wheat or rye grains.
Now making 1,000 bottles a week - a drop in the ocean compared with the best-known global vodka names - Mr Chase says demand is soaring in the US thanks to winning the San Francisco competition.
"Winning the award has been fantastic for us," he says.
"It has really helped to build up the brand's profile, which is vital. You can have the best product in the world, but it won't sell if the brand isn't strong."
'Owner's personality'
The term 'brand' is an elusive concept, but it is vital to get right if a product is going to fly off the shelves, regardless of whether it is produced by a multi-national company or a small firm with just a few employees.
A brand is essentially the combination of a product's name and personality, and whether it is successful can be judged by how well it connects to its customers. And therefore how well it sells.
Far from an exact science, a brand can be built up by advertising or wider marketing campaigns, winning an award, or simply having the best possible logo and packaging.
And, as Mr Chase explains, creating a successful brand need not cost much money.
"When I started the crisp company, I didn't spend any money on advertising," he says.
"Instead it was just me and what I knew was a great product visiting hundreds of little independent stores.
"So essentially I was the brand, and I was friendly and enthusiastic.
"If I had been an arrogant jerk, then the shops wouldn't have taken Tyrrell's crisps, regardless of how good they are. The owners wouldn't have wanted to see if the crisps sold.
"So, certainly when you are starting your own business, the brand is your personality, you have to put your own magic into it."
