John Glaser, owner of Compass Box Whisky, has been dubbed the maverick of his trade. In 2000 he founded the first boutique whisky blending company in nearly a century. In this article, he explains his approach to innovation.
"Wine was my first love. I use to dream of being a wine maker. I got a lot of ideas from working in the wine industry; it’s really bold in terms of blending great varieties in different vineyards. It inspired me to be brave and do things differently with whisky.
I felt that most whisky marketers weren’t evolving with the tastes of drinkers. I saw the opportunity to create whiskies more tailored to people’s drinking preferences today.
Scotch whisky is dominated by big brands and when we started we challenged some deeply held beliefs about its production. Now some of those companies are coming to us saying they are inspired by what we did.
Proprietary names like our Asyla and Oak Cross are new to the industry. The
large companies tend to be strong on brand stewardship but weak on innovation. We use styles of whisky that other companies don’t. We flatter whisky rather than covering up the taste with mixers.
We have a niche approach; it’s not about mass marketing. We’re not going to be the next big thing in Tesco. We want to stay true to our core value which is producing high quality whisky in a contemporary way.
The internet is the perfect medium for what we do. We drive traffic to our website through whisky blogs, events around dinners, tastings and going to festivals."
John Glaser's five tips for getting an innovation to market
- Make something the big companies don’t want to
- Make unassailably high quality product
- Have a memorable (and true) company story. The press love this, and your consumers will use it at dinner parties
- Your website is your global salesperson – small businesses can make a big impression with an excellent website
- Plan finances carefully – most things will take twice as long as you think (and cost twice as much)
Got an idea for a new business? Find out how to get started.
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