Meet Guillaume Lambrecht, the person behind the scenes at the Belgian company Deluxe Distillery who makes sure everything is in order. The itch for independent enterprise brought him to Deluxe Distillery a few years ago and since then he has been an indispensable part of the Belgian spirits sector. The products offered, Blind Tiger, Mary White and the exotic Supasawa are of top quality and are served with a very inspiring story and beautifully designed bottle. We welcome you!
Guillaume, can you tell us a little bit about the history of your company?
Since it all ties into one storyline, let me also explain my own history. I have done several studies, a first Bachelor in strategic marketing and a second in business. After that, I went to England to get a Master’s degree in Strategic Business Management. With this package, I have always wanted to focus on marketing in a company. That opportunity was given to me at my first employer, Brouwerij de Brabandere. I was allowed to develop the marketing strategy further, which enabled me to set up numerous things myself, and I was involved in the marketing of Kwaremont beer. Working for the brewery and also giving other companies a makeover was a very enjoyable but above all instructive experience.
After five years, I felt it was time to spread my wings and do not only the marketing part, but also the rest. The urge to be self-employed was instilled in me at an early age, as both my parents and grandparents were self-employed.
The search for a place where I could spread my wings brought me, after about a year, to the company Deluxe Distillery. In 2017 it was still a small company without a warehouse or storage space, with the focus mainly on Kortrijk and two or three export countries. What attracted me to Deluxe Distillery were the values of their brands. The branding and the stories around Blind Tiger and Mary White were already good. Despite my somewhat limited knowledge of the spirits industry, I joined the company in 2018 and owned my own half of the shares. My tasks consisted of developing and implementing a strategy that would serve as a solid foundation for Deluxe Distillery. Together with the owners at the time, I introduced a new product called Supasawa. With my arrival in the company, there was also a clear expansion internationally. By the end of 2018, we were already working with fifteen export countries. On a national level, we expanded from just Kortrijk to West Flanders and beyond.
Shortly after I joined Deluxe Distillery, the founders decided to go in a new direction. This was not an easy period, as I did not yet know the full network. Nevertheless, I started the year 2019 as ‘sole-owner‘ in good spirits and we continued to grow and expand. One of the first things that took place was the relocation of our office in the centre of Kortrijk to the outskirts of Kuurne. The easily accessible commercial space with warehouse provided more logistical possibilities. Also, the orders became larger, making professionalization a must. In October 2019, I hired a first reinforcement, Roy Gino, to further support the sales in Belgium.
The famous year of corona, 2020, was a serious setback for the industry, as well as for our growth plans. However, 2020 was a year of double-digit growth, but we did not achieve the targeted growth. The growth came mainly from exports, especially from America and Australia.
How did you do with the export?
The path to the right importer or distributor is very different and certainly not easy. What makes the process a little more common? That is to know one, the market and therefore also the competitors very well. If you often encounter those competitors with the same distributors in different countries, then you can be confident that this is a good party. Step two is building a network in Belgium and throughout Europe. You do that by participating in many trade fairs where you come into contact with different people, brands and start-ups. Besides networking, at the fairs you also come to the question of whether you want to work with a large or a small distributor. Personally, I prefer to choose a small distributor for the simple reason that they have a more limited portfolio and they are more focused on the brands they distribute. Larger distributors have more than 50 brands and our brands would be lost in the crowd. In decisions like this, it is important to look at the size of your own company and make sure you can still keep up, as growth costs a lot of money. I prefer the presence of our products at the right top shops at home and abroad, as that builds and positions your brand.
What about distribution on Belgian soil?
Belgium is a small country and most distributors already have about 50 spirits on their list, so there is little chance that you will be presented in the right way. Therefore, in 2018, I took the decision to work without a distributor for the spirits. Today, we work with a representative to better serve those wholesalers. The wholesalers we work with are the Prik&Tiks, Drinkcenters and quality wine suppliers. We believe that the brand is built from the on-trade out in order to remain a constant in the market, especially with our gin and vodka.
Can you give a description of your different products?
Everything began in 2014 with Blind Tiger Gin, of which there is a choice of two varieties, the Piper Cubeba and Imperial Secrets. These two make a good pair, one complex and spicy, the other mainly floral with a soft citrus note. With the Piper Cubeba, we make the difference with the special botanicals/spices such as the tail pepper, the 47 degree alcohol content, the design of the bottle and the brand in general. With the other gin, Imperial Secrets, we were the first in Europe to add Asian tea to the ingredients list. The three types of tea create a uniquely soft, floral note.
The story of Blind Tiger is super strong. First of all, it’s a Belgian brand with an American story, which can sound complex but is definitely worth it. The story takes place in America between the 1920s and 1930s, during the famous prohibition. It was then forbidden to drink alcohol, with disastrous consequences for the bars. The best solution was to stick the logo of a blind tiger on the windows of the bar, with the slogan: “Come inside and see this rare creature”. This served as a kind of symbol and invitation to come inside. Once inside, a token with the symbol of the blind tiger gave access to a secret bar in the basement where alcoholic drinks were served. These secret bars are also called speakeasy bars.
The Mary White, our vodka, a very nice product, saw the light of day in 2016. Vodka in general has a very bad name among people between the ages of 20 and 45, they think it has no taste, that it only burns in the throat and is sold for too high a price. With Mary White, we wanted to rebrand the vodka category and bring a smooth vodka to the market that can be drunk straight or in cocktails. We want to show that vodka can also provide a smooth and silky experience. The Mary White itself, seems a bit milky, still burns a bit as it contains 40% alcohol, but provides a completely different experience.
The story of the Mary White is linked to the story of the Blind Tiger. To get the liquor to the speakeasies they needed illegal transporters, called “bootleggers”. Mary White was regarded as the queen of bootleggers in her day because she was so successful. Her success was due to the women’s fashion at the time, which consisted of wearing very large bulging dresses. Under this dress she hid the illegal bottles of liquor, and because all policemen at that time were men, women were hardly searched. In this way she went from bar to bar, selling liquor in a clever but illegal way, until she was arrested in New York in 1932. By then she had made a turnover of more than five million dollars. We can conclude that she was a very successful lady. The design of the bottle is an ode to Mary White and thus rather ‘feminine’, with a marble look that simultaneously refers to the smoothness and purity of our vodka.
Given the large market in vodka, with some very large players, it is not always easy. These big players have very large budgets to work with, which we as a smaller company cannot match. We distinguish ourselves on the market by offering tailor-made house cocktails. Restaurant owners also like the fact that our vodka is Belgian, and are happy to take advantage of this. We have already won some major international prizes with the Mary White, including the internationally renowned competition in New York, where we won a gold medal twice with a score of 95 out of 100.
Furthermore, we have our Supasawa, one of our products with the Japanese translation for ” super sour“. The origin of the name is the result of a nice night out and some glasses of Japanese whiskey. The design of the bottle is also a nod to Japanese culture. There is a snake depicted, the sign of alchemy etc. Supasawa is actually a non-alcoholic product and serves as a sour agent for cocktails. Every cocktail has to be perfectly balanced between sweet and sour. For the ‘sour’ part, many bars and restaurants use lime or lemon juice. The problem with these natural fruits is that consistency as well as shelf life is not their best friend. We ran into this problem after several requests to supply small events with cocktails. It was very time-consuming to use these limes / lemons. So we went looking for a solution and found a perfect balance after a try-out of about 50 recipes and combinations.
With Supasawa, we have launched a product that is unique in the world and is used at home and abroad, by the best bars in the world, as well as major festivals, such as Tomorrowland. The reasons are that it saves time, stays good for up to two years after production and has a consistent acidity. A big difference with fresh limes. Supasawa can already be found in 45 countries, which also opens doors for our spirits, which are currently distributed in 36 countries.
What are your ambitions for the future?
I have a lot of ambition but would never want to become the next big name. My motto is “small and fine“, but small is very relative. One of the upcoming milestones will be the launch of a brand new product, about which I don’t want to say much yet. What I can tell you is that it will be a category opener, just like the Supasawa, but within the alcoholic market. Opening a new category seems to work well, even if it is very marketing intensive and costly. The next milestone will be the expansion of the team in terms of logistics and sales. Currently, the team consists of myself, a salesperson, an external social media expert, an external designer and three independent export managers. These export managers look for new opportunities and distribution channels abroad. I got to know these people through the fairs I told you about. This shows that networking is very important in any industry. Networking simplifies an industry that can seem overwhelming at first.
Is there a golden tip you would like to pass on?
First of all, I would like to say: don’t jump on the first, the best. Also, never give up. I myself went through a very difficult period following the takeover by following my gut feeling. Together with a good portion of luck, you usually get there.
What helped us, as a small company, to survive this corona crisis was to keep our options open and broaden our focus to the distribution of our products within the independent AD Delhaizes and to start building a network there. This worked out very well together with the exports which always remained active, but very often fluctuated due to the many lockdowns in each country. It is important to work flexibly and to do business in parallel, as it were.
Can you outline the Belgian character of Deluxe Distillery?
It is important for us to be proud of our Belgian roots. However, we are a small country with a lot to offer such as the cliché elements as fries, beer and chocolate. We also show the outside world that we can make very good strong drinks. Through my experience in the beer world, I know how important it is there, the Belgian connotation with beer and I want to make the same link with spirits. Belgium is more than a country, it is a brand and with that you can really make a difference. People from abroad quickly link our country to good and tasty food, which is certainly to our advantage.
More info on Deluxe Distillery and its products can be found here: Website Deluxe Distillery
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