Case study
IWSC success credited with tipping the scales to secure national listings for Trevethan Gin
Cornwall's Trevethan Distillery won the prestigious IWSC Gin Producer Trophy and this accolade assisted in its success in securing a national listing at major supermarket.
Trevethan Distillery was resurrected by John Hall and Robert Cuffe following the discovery of Rob’s grandfather, Norman Trevethan’s, original old bathtub gin recipe from 1929. John and Rob recreated the recipe, launching a classic London Dry Gin in October 2015.
In the years since, the team has grown to a team of seven, with an expanding range of spirits, from its original Classic London Dry Gin and a Navy Strength Gin to several fruit gins, a rum and even a micro scale single estate brandy.
Ready to compete in the world’s most established drinks competition, in July 2021, Trevethan London Dry Gin was awarded an IWSC Gold medal, and the same year, the distillery was named the IWSC’s Gin Producer of the Year. Another year on, following 2022 judging, the gin was awarded a Gold outstanding medal, achieving a rare 98 points. Trevethan is also included in this year’s shortlist for the UK Gin Producer Trophy, alongside Wessex Gin and Ophir Gin.
“One of the biggest successes we can point to off the back of our IWSC awards, are the largescale customers we have won as a direct result of the award.”
John Hall, Founder - Trevethan Distillery
With multiple award bodies to choose from, why the decision to enter the IWSC? Trevethan founder, John Hall explains his reasons for entering the IWSC:
“The success over recent years has been invaluable to our business. As a small player in a growing and competitive marketplace, we don’t have the marketing budgets to shout louder than other brands.
“We have focused on the IWSC as an awards body because of its history, credibility, and the way it works with its award-winners to get the message out to consumers and buyers alike. It gives us a much more cost-effective marketing message to take out, one that really has a lot of impact.”
Trevethan’s success at the IWSC has also resulted in bringing the brand to the attention of some of the UK’s most renowned buyers:
“One of the biggest successes we can point to off the back of our awards in 2021 and 2022 are the largescale customers we have won as a direct result of the award. We have been able to gain a listing with The Spirits Kiosk, which has also meant an opportunity to sell into Enotria & Coe on an on-trade basis. We have also secured a national listing in Waitrose from October 2022, this was something we had been working on for some time, but we know from talking to the buyer that it was our IWSC awards that tipped the scales in our favour.”
With a national listing in the pipeline, the team at Trevethan Distillery have much to be excited about. Shortlisted for a second year in a row for the IWSC UK Gin Producer Trophy is an impressive achievement too, the future of Trevethan Distillery and its passionate team is looking bright.
John Hall shares some final comments: “A gold medal at the IWSC was always a goal of mine from my very first day as a distiller. I can remember watching the awards come out each year and seeing the likes of Bombay and Herno winning gold medals and trophies and I was desperate to get one for Trevethan one day. To have achieved it not just once, but multiple times is a testament to the hard work put in by our team here at Trevethan. We’re punching well above our weight because we all believe in what we do.”