A Manchester distillery group has created a new company and is set to build a new drinks development and packing centre as part of a £900,000 investment.
The City of Manchester Distillery has founded Alcohol Solutions, for which it will open a new centre in Carrington in September, aimed at expanding its range of alcohol services.
The distillery is behind award-winning Three Rivers Gin, and founders of the original 'gin experience', and announced plans for the 13,000 sq ft site on Wednesday.
The facility will house a laboratory for development of beverages, canning and bottling lines, and a bonded facility and capacity to process 10m cans and bottles per year.
The move will create six new jobs.
Dave Rigby, a founder of the City of Manchester Distillery and Alcohol Solutions, said: “We’ve been expanding our services over the last few years, creating drinks for everyone from micro-distilleries to multinationals.
"Setting-up Alcohol Solutions was a natural next step and further develops our services. The investment, combined with our experience, means we have the wisdom, knowledge and capabilities to meet any opportunity to create an alcohol-based drink and bring it to market.”
City of Manchester Distillery said it will continue to operate out of its current premises in the city centre, where it employs six people and hosts the Gin Experience for customers to make and learn more about the popular spirit.
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Going forward, the distillery will trade as part of Alcohol Solutions.
Graham Gibson, a director of Alcohol Solutions, added: “We have developed the new company because we’ve become so much more than a distiller of gin and other spirits.
“We can take a concept from scratch to create retail-ready drinks, help companies perfect flavourings and ingredients, source liquids as well as bottle and can drinks, so they can be distributed and sold on a wider-scale.
“There’s a lot of value in outsourcing during the development of new alcohol drinks, and this will only grow further following the financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies will be looking for quick and cost-effective routes to market.”
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Installation is being finalised at the new Carrington site ahead of its opening in mid-September, with the potential for this to be upscaled and more jobs created in response to market demand.
Dave Rigby concludes: “The pandemic has been challenging but we’ve remained committed to establishing Alcohol Solutions and opening the new site. Our whole ethos is all about saving companies time and money when it comes to sourcing, producing and packing alcohol-based drinks. Demand for our services will rise as pubs, bars and restaurants start to reopen and consumers increasingly demand innovation in a post-lockdown economy. We’re still seeing brands and retailers bringing new drinks to market. Hard seltzers are fast-emerging, while changes in events and socialising will further alter how people drink. Single serve cans for a wide-range of drinks from craft beers to premium cocktails will be big business.
“Alcohol Solutions is a business that can help companies of any size capitalise on such trends, both quickly and cost-effectively.”