Derv McGowan, Anther Geelong Distillery (Part Two)

Remarkable Regional Business – Episode 44 (Part Two)

Guest: Derv McGowan

Business Name: Anther Geelong Distillery

Website: https://anther.com.au/

They lost 80% of their business overnight. Their response was to give away gin every week and go door to door delivering bottles to strangers.

In Part Two of this conversation on Remarkable Regional Business, Caleb Maxwell continues the discussion with Derv McGowan from Anther Distillery in Geelong. The conversation picks up at the moment COVID hit, when Anther was about to press go on building their own distillery and the bottom fell out of the industry they'd spent four years building a business in.

What came next is a story about resilience, diversification, and finding out what you actually know that other people will pay for.

Derv also shares two of the most remarkable product collaborations you'll hear about on this show, one with the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne for their 175th anniversary, and one with the Australian Gynecological Cancer Foundation that has educated thousands of people about cancer at a gin tasting.

Topics Covered

/ Surviving COVID as a small distillery

How government support, a rebuilt website, doorstep gin deliveries and a weekly cocktail competition kept Anther alive and connected to its community.

/ Building the distillery during a pandemic