Melbourne woman, Ellen Weigall, was sick of having to sacrifice femininity for quality when it came to having a drink
A 26-year-old publicist has revealed how she turned her love for gin and the colour pink into a $20,000-per-month side hustle in just two years.
Melbourne woman, Ellen Weigall, was sick of having to sacrifice femininity for quality when it came to having a drink – so in 2019 she created Baby Gin, which embraces both.
‘Our drink of choice says a lot about who we are, but the alcohol marketed at women is often low-quality or super sweet,’ she told FEMAIL.
‘Women like their spirits too and don’t want to sacrifice quality. But they still want to drink something that feels like them.’
She wanted to create something that looked beautiful without being loaded with sugar – and used her publicity skills to sell it.
‘I love seeing people’s expressions change when they take a sip and find a super juniper-heavy, good quality spirit,’ she said.
While researching the gin-making process Ellen realised most of the executives calling the shots in the liquor industry were men.
The young woman – who created the brand as a side-project – is now selling $20,000 worth of the pink spirit a month
She used to bottle everything by hand – but can now afford to get it done for her
‘I love spirits but didn’t feel drawn to any, and the reason become clear, they are all male owned – and not aimed at women.’
And it appears Ellen wasn’t the only woman calling out for something better.
‘Why do I have to buy something cheap and sugary – or a rose, when I am buying with my eye,’ she asked.
When she launched Baby, a pink, small-batch distilled gin, she was inundated with orders.
‘I didn’t even know how to pack an order, but I was getting about one a minute,’ she laughed.
‘It forced me to figure it out very quickly.’
The learning curve was steep but Ellen was dedicated to making it work – spending every minute away from her full-time job on the project.
‘I am bad at delegating but after hand labelling a batch of bottles I got everyone in to help, my grandad even spent a day labelling,’ she said.
She also used to label everything by hand – and quickly found the job suitable for friends and family
Ellen believed women want a good quality spirit – but also need something they can identify with – which is why she created Baby
‘My hands were so sore, so I had no choice but to delegate,’ she said.
She is pouring all of the profits back into the business – and now the bottles are labelled and boxed for her.
The product’s introduction to the market created a huge stir – and soon she was invited to sell her goods at Dan Murphy’s, and BWS.
The gin is $79 for a 700ml bottle and will soon be stocked in Liquorland as well, with local ‘instant’ access important to Ellen.
‘Sometimes you want these things straight away and can’t wait for it to be posted, that’s why it is so important we are available in store.
Baby is projected to hit a million-dollar turn-over within three years of her launch.
She says you don’t need to be a mixologist to create a gorgeous gin and tonic with Baby
‘We launched before Covid and I think that had a positive effect on sales, especially through our own website because people weren’t leaving the house.’
Baby gin is the only 100percent female owned spirit company in Australia.
Ellen is yet to take a wage from the business and is just excited watching it grow.
‘I will keep pouring the profits back in, keep the ball rolling until it can’t go any further – and then look for some outside investors,’ she said.
Ellen invested $40,000 of her own savings into the business to get it off the ground.
BABY Pink Gin has won multiple International spirits awards including a medal in The World Spirits Masters.
Ellen has also been invited as a judge in the World Gin Awards in London.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
Source: Sound Health and Lasting Wealth
