In their insightful conversation, Dan Szor, founder of Cotswolds Distillery, and Olivier Ward of Everglow Spirits dove deep into the importance of storytelling in brand building.
This engaging discussion touched on Dan’s journey in launching the Cotswolds Distillery and the key decisions that helped shape its identity.
Below is a summary of the conversation and key takeaways that can help other brand owners build a compelling narrative for their products.
Some context on Cotswolds Distillery:
Cotswolds Distillery, nestled in the heart of one of England’s most picturesque regions, has been crafting award-winning spirits since 2014. The distillery produces a range of high-quality products including their flagship Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky, which is both highly acclaimed and now a key name in the emerging English Whisky category on the international stage.
Alongside whisky and the focus of this conversation, their Cotswolds Dry Gin is an established name in the craft gin market. Featuring a unique blend of botanicals including local lavender, it has become a hallmark of their brand, capturing the essence of the region’s natural beauty.
Beyond their products, the Cotswolds Distillery’s visitor centre offers an immersive experience for spirits enthusiasts and casual visitors alike. Located in the heart of the Cotswolds, this centre hosts guided tours of the distillery, where guests learn about the craftsmanship and care that goes into producing their spirits, from grain to glass.
Insights from the conversation…
The power of place and provenance
It was always part of my vision that the story would be about place.
From the very beginning, Dan Szor knew that the story of Cotswolds Distillery had to be centred around the place. Inspired by his visits to Scottish distilleries, particularly Bruichladdich, Dan realised the importance of location and provenance, not just in creating flavours but also in shaping the brand’s identity. The Cotswolds, with its beautiful landscape and local barley, became the foundation of the distillery’s story.
Key Takeaway:
Think about if it is possible, and if so, suitable to anchor your brand in a sense of place or provenance. Consumers are drawn to stories that connect a product to its origins, be it through ingredients, craftsmanship, or the surrounding environment.
Building the brand narrative
While the Cotswolds was the heart of the brand, building a successful product story required translating that essence into the liquid itself. When creating their gin, Dan and his team focused on reflecting the Cotswolds’ beauty — soft, lush, and impressionistic. The result was a gin with big, bold flavours and a distinctive use of Cotswold lavender.
However, Dan soon realised that it wasn’t enough to just imbue their regionality. The challenge was conveying this to consumers in a short amount of time. After years of trial and error, the distillery embraced its gin’s unique selling point (USP): its cloudy appearance when mixed with tonic due to the high oil content. This unexpected feature became a visual marker and a focal point for telling the story in a more engaging way.
Key Takeaway:
Identify a clear, unique selling point and lean into it. Simplify your story so that it can be communicated in a few seconds. For Cotswolds Distillery, their gin’s cloudiness became a defining characteristic that not only captured attention but also made the product memorable.
Evolving the narrative
Brand storytelling isn’t static, and Dan highlighted the need to adapt over time. Initially, he and his team were focused on the artisanal process, but they realised they needed a clearer message for consumers to connect with. This led them to develop a more unified and accessible narrative across their team, ensuring that everyone from distillers to salespeople was telling the same story. Easier said than done as he discusses with the timeline needed and their journey into whisky – but an important factor when building your brand story.
Key takeaway:
Consistency is key. As your brand grows, it’s essential to ensure that everyone involved is telling the same story. This strengthens the brand and ensures that consumers are hearing a consistent message.
Marketing is essential
It’s all about understanding who our consumer is and how our product appeals to that consumer.
Dan shared a valuable lesson he learned from outside the spirits industry: the importance of focusing on the consumer. He realised that building a brand is about understanding who your customer is and what resonates with them, rather than just what you want to say. This approach to marketing helped Cotswolds Distillery refine their messaging and ultimately better communicate their brand identity.
Key takeaway:
Put the consumer at the heart of your brand’s story. Understand who your target audience is and craft your messaging to resonate with them. This ensures your story connects on a personal level and is more likely to stick.
How? To focus on the consumer, a brand must first understand who their target audience is and what drives their preferences. This goes beyond just selling a product—it’s about creating an emotional connection by addressing the consumer’s needs, desires, and lifestyle.
A brand can start by developing detailed customer personas, identifying what motivates them, their daily habits, and their values. From there, brands should tailor their messaging and experience to align with those insights. By focusing on how their product fits into the consumer’s life rather than just listing its features, brands can create deeper engagement and build long-term loyalty.
A long-term perspective
You’re building your brand every day, and this is going to take 100 years.
Dan acknowledged that building a brand, particularly in the spirits industry, takes time. The process of finding clarity in the narrative and getting it out into the world is long and often challenging. His advice to other entrepreneurs is to be patient and realise that storytelling is a gradual process that evolves with the brand.
Key Takeaway:
Be prepared for the long game. Building a brand is not an overnight process, especially in industries where competitors have decades of heritage. It requires persistence, patience, and a willingness to adapt as you learn.
Remember though – while building a brand requires patience and persistence, it doesn’t mean sitting back and waiting for things to happen. Instead, brand owners need to set clear goals and regularly measure their progress. This can be done through implementing tests, gathering consumer feedback, and tracking key performance metrics like brand awareness, engagement, and sales.
By testing different marketing strategies or product launches, brands can gather data to see what resonates with their audience and adjust accordingly. A steady, measured approach allows for adaptation and refinement over time while keeping the brand’s long-term vision in focus. Building a brand is a marathon, not a sprint—consistent effort, combined with smart analysis, leads to lasting success.
As always, clarity is key
Dan Szor’s journey with Cotswolds Distillery is a perfect example of how storytelling and brand building go hand in hand. By rooting the brand in a sense of place, identifying a clear USP, and constantly refining the narrative, Dan and his team have created a brand that resonates deeply with consumers.
For other brand owners, the lesson is clear: success lies in the stories you tell and how well you can communicate them to the world.
