18 Aug
Blog

It’s our third birthday!

It’s been a rollercoaster three years and there is lots to celebrate…

I cannot believe our Surrey start-up is three years old.  Three years since we decided to make a wine-lovers’ beer.  Three years since we took the plunge and decided to do something a bit different.  Three years since we packed away the corporate life and embarked on the start-up journey.

When you work in a large corporate, customers and suppliers work with you because of the company you work for, your position or the products that you sell.  Working for a start-up has been a completely different experience since there is very little that a small brand can offer.

But primarily all the lovely people we have met who have taken an interest in binary

It has certainly been a rollercoaster three years with countless memorable moments and a nearly infinite number of mistakes and learnings along the way.   When I look back over the last three years, our stand-out highlights all revolve around people taking an interest in a small brand and wanting to see it succeed.  This includes customers, suppliers, outlets and the ever-helpful friends and family.

I will never cease to be amazed by the lovely people we have met on our journey…people who have gone out of their way to help us in their small way.  This is what has made the last three years so rewarding.  And this is reflected in a few of our favourite highlights from the past 3 years…  

Local hop sourcing in Worcester
John Walker agreeing to harvest and collect the hop leaves for us.  We really wanted to work with a local farmer but initially people thought we were a bit odd when we said we wanted to collect the hop leaves at harvest.  Fortunately, John and his family were prepared to give it a go and we haven’t looked back.
Surrey farmers market Ripley
Our first Farmer’s Market – this was a picture of our first ever Farmer’s Market in Ripley.  We didn’t have enough weights and the stand looked a little sad.  But the team at Ripley were so helpful and it didn’t take long for us to fall in love with Farmer’s Markets and meeting people who see value in local produce, are willing to try new things and supportive of small businesses. 
First retail sampling
Inn at Home in Guildford – our first retail outlet.  David was kind enough to list us and we learnt a lot giving out binary samples to ‘real customers’ for the first time.   Independent retailers are so important to helping small brands come to life.  Without them, many of our favourite brands would not see the light of day
Harvey Nichols bar

Harvey Nichols – our first high-end chain listing.  We met Bryan (the buyer) at Taste of London and he patiently walked us through the process of getting the listing.  If I put myself in the shoes of a buyer and the number of brands they must see… the amount of time he spent with us was amazing and we got to sample cocktails in the Harvey Nichols bars – life is good! 
First Michelin Start listing

Our first Michelin Star listing.  Not only were we happy to get our first Michelin Star listing but its also where we met Marco.   Marco is one of the most passionate and skilled sommeliers you will ever meet. We have had a lot of fun making cocktails over the last year and you will recognise Marco from our various videos.   My only regret is that I cannot get to taste his Italian cooking on a more regular basis.
Favourite customer review

A tweet from Right Said Fred –        as a child of the 80s and 90s when Right Said Fred tweeted about binary – we truly did feel too sexy… That said – we love getting emails from customers with their cocktail recipe suggestions or just how much they like binary.
Ocado listing
Our Ocado listing – our first intro into the world of ‘big’ retail. We loved being next to a Peroni in the Ocado magazine – a brand we love.
Launching our 0.5%
Launching our 0.5%.  I always wanted to launch the 0.5% but it took a lot longer to get the recipe right.  Alcohol does a lot for flavour carry and making a drink feel ‘substantial’.  Many non-alcoholic beers use bitterness to give that impression of body, so without the bitterness it took a while to get the recipe right.  The 0.5% is now my favourite.  

Taste the Future trial with Sainsburys
Taste the Future with Sainsburys Applying 20,000 neck tags by hand seemed like a good idea at the time – thank goodness for family. We loved being on the Taste the Future bay … and we hope to be back with the wine-lovers’ beer.

Happy birthday to us and thank you from Team binary

Cheers!

Danielle

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