Manchester gin-enthusiasts Mark Smallwood and Liam Manton created Didsbury Gin in 2017 and the tipple has already been hailed by Vogue Magazine as ‘one of the most exciting new British gins’.
Hot off the heels of redundancy, and a bumper year making gin, Mark from Middlesbrough and Liam from Manchester took on their biggest challenge yet, the Dragons’ Den.
The craft gin makers bagged themselves three minutes to pitch their plans for world domination to the BBC show’s five resident multi-millionaires in a bid to convince them to invest their own cash in the craft gin company.
The craft Didsbury Gin combines traditional artisan methods and infusing modern botanicals using a blend of hand peeled fresh citrus, British roots and hand-cracked juniper berries. The result is clean, crisp & zesty – good enough to drink neat, perfect with tonic and delightful in cocktails.
Taking inspiration from the vibrancy and colourful nature of Parsonage and Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens in south Manchester, Didsbury Gin is a refreshing citrus twist on a classic London dry gin, with a Mancunian background. Already stocked in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, Didsbury Gin is set to be the Gin of 2019.
After some initial banter between the multi-millionaires, Liam and Mark hooked in offers from both Jenny Campbell and Tej Lalvani.
Ex-career banker turned business turnaround specialist and European cash machine entrepreneur Jenny prides herself on helping young talent realise their potential and the gin-makers felt instant chemistry with her.
What’s more she has a well-documented love of gin and her own home gin bar already.
With the promise of help scaling up the business and reducing costs so they could increase production of the gin, enabling them to offer the right price point to take their product to the bigger retailers and restaurant and bar chains, Liam and Mark took Jenny’s offer of £75,000 for 33.3% of their one year old business.
Since the show was recorded in April 2018 Jenny has already guided Liam and Mark through a rebrand, an upscale of the business as well as legal and financial advice, and they are now just days away from announcing a number of listings with some of the UK’s biggest bar groups.
The team have also secured partnerships with NWTC, where their gin is now stocked in all of The Botanist bars across the UK, The Florist venues in Bristol and Liverpool, plus further NWTC venues including The Trading House, The Canal House and The Club House.
For more information about Didsbury Gin visit www.didsburygin.com
