Abstract:
The purpose of this research is to identify and explore the key aspects of artisanal branding and how these aspects are applied to building craft distilled spirit brands. The importance of the research is to explore how artisanal spirits brand themselves and how these aspects of artisanal branding can be applied to building an artisanal distilled spirit brand. The research is a case study on the Inverroche gin brand and the artisanal branding aspects that it has applied to building its brand.
The research also looks at what artisanal branding is and how it can be a successful strategy tool for building an authentic brand that differentiates itself from its competitors. The research is extremely feasible because one can approach it from numerous directions. My research is an explorative study on the artisanal branding aspects applied by other craft spirits and explores how that helps build an authentic brand image.
The research methodology involved a phenomenological approach where qualitative methods were used to analyse the data obtained. The qualitative methods chosen were a semi-structured interview held with owner and manager of Inverroche, Lorna Scott, a participant observation where consumer experience at the distillery was recorded and observed, and lastly, a semiotic analysis was conducted by observing Inverroche’s packaging and label design.
My key research findings are that Inverroche illustrates all of the key aspects of artisanal branding, however, it focused on two key aspects of artisanal branding to drive the unique selling point of the product. These two key aspects were the novelty of the Inverroche gin brand and its crafted story. Inverroche was able to become an iconic, authentic brand by crafting three diverse gins with fynbos that explores the story of a dynamic place that cannot be repeated by competitors. In addition, Inverroche is an authentic brand because they do not just put the word ‘artisanal’ on the label but allow for consumers to actively engage with the brand.
