Export Insight Visit enables Sadler’s Ales to explore overseas markets
Black Country craft brewery Sadler’s Ales develops overseas trade contacts following an Export Insight Visit to Latvia organised by UKTI.
Chris Sadler, MD, Sadler's Ales; Paul Keeling, UKTI trade adviser and Ian King, Sales Director, Sadler's Ales
Award-winning Sadler’s Ales is setting its sights firmly on exporting to overseas markets in 2016 after taking part in a UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) backed exploratory trip to Latvia.
Following the visit Sadler’s Ales aims to appoint a sales distributor and establish sales across the Baltic States and Scandinavia.
UKTI’s Export Insight Visits programme gave Lye-based brewer, Sadler’s Ales a low cost way to see what opportunity there was to grow their business overseas. These visits aim to help small organisations see the huge opportunity and support available to them.
Ian King, sales director, Sadler’s Ales said,
We’ve made some excellent trade contacts and we are following these up now. I couldn’t recommend an Export Insight Visit enough; it’s a must for anyone exporting or thinking of export.
Christine Hamilton, acting regional director of UKTI West Midlands said,
These visits offer companies the opportunity to get in front of the right people in a new market and start the ball rolling when it comes to exporting.
Arrange a face to face meeting with an International Trade Adviser (ITA) and find out more about UKTI services.
Catalyst to start exporting
The prompt to start thinking about exporting came when the Polish Chamber of Commerce asked to sell some of Sadler’s ales in Poland.
Sadler’s Ales then started to think seriously about becoming a pro-active exporter.
Visit to Latvia
The Export Insight Visit to Riga took place from 23 to 25 November 2015.
Sadler’s Ales joined a group of 21 small and micro companies on a delegation to Riga, Latvia, to see what opportunity there was to grow their business overseas.
During the visit Ian King and Sadler’s Ales’ managing director Christopher Sadler gave potential buyers a sample taste of their local ales. As part of the Latvia visit they were able to exhibit their wares to Baltic supermarket chain Rimi and to high-end Finnish department store Stockmann.
Ian King said:
Next year we hope to start exporting and we used this UKTI visit as a fact-finding mission to see what help we could get, make contact with distributors and use what we learned as a basis for overseas trading in 2016.
Christine Hamilton said,
The early indications that Sadler’s Ales is already gaining interest from Latvia and Scandinavia is very encouraging and illustrate just what can be achieved on Export Insight Visits.
About Sadler’s Ales
Sadler’s began brewing again in 2004 in Lye after a 77-year gap. The business which dates back to 1900 opened a new brewhouse in March 2015. It produces a number of beers in both cask and bottle form and has won a number of awards in recent years.
A new brewery has enabled it to increase the range of ales it produces.
| Company | Sadler’s Ales |
| UKTI services | Export Insight Visits |
| Website | Sadler’s Ales |