Case Study: Two Drifters
Drifting Through Sustainability Dreams
Client: Two Drifters Distillery
Brand: Two Drifters
Bottle: Rum Range & Miniatures
The Company
Two Drifters Distillery is only two and a half years old and is already making waves. They produce British made rum in their Exeter based distillery built on the dream of building a truly sustainable business whilst becoming the biggest rum distillery in the UK. The company have become the first rum distillery with a carbon negative footprint.
A Sustainable Ethos
Two Drifters take their sustainability to a whole new level, working on the idea that they tax themselves on carbon. The company looks to create as little carbon as possible, but, where carbon cannot be avoided through processes such as, shipping molasses from sugar cane refineries, they work with carbon removal company Climeworks. Climeworks, based in Iceland, operate a carbon capture and storage facility which works to capture carbon from the air before turning it into stone and burying it underground. Going that extra step beyond tree planting to become carbon negative rather than simply carbon neutral.
Beyond this, the distillery uses renewable energy to run their facility, have closed loop cooling systems for their stills to avoid water waste, have green tariffs on everything and all merchandise produced uses recycled cotton. They even refuse to advertise in print to avoid paper use. Such a strong sustainability focus made Verallia the perfect partner for Two Drifters next steps.
The Aim
After spending some time utilising off the shelf bottles manufactured in Europe, Two Drifters realised that this did not reflect their sustainable ambitions. Heavy glass being shipped across Europe was not good enough. After a rebrand in summer 2021 in which the company switched to more sustainable options such as sugarcane fibre labels, they decided they needed to change their glass supplier. Two Drifters came to Allied looking for a bottle which would appear modern, vibrant and appeal to a young market.
Picking Up Blackwell
For a beautiful and versatile bottle, our Blackwell premium standard design was the obvious choice for Two Drifters. Additionally, the bottle is a huge 30% lighter than the one previously used by the distillery, greatly reducing the carbon usage for processes such as production and transportation. In addition to this, choosing a UK based supplier has greatly reduced their carbon footprint and removed the need for transportation through Europe.
The sleek design of the Blackwell creates the perfect shape to adorn the Two Drifters bright and colourful fibre labelling.
Finishing Touches
Being truly sustainable means leaving no stone unturned. And that is something the Two Drifters bottle has achieved fantastically. Their standout, colourful labelling and tamper seals are created with sugarcane fibre to utilise waste from the refining process. Which are also printed in the next county along. They developed their bottle stop from natural cork and maple wood pulp.
The bottle has been immensely popular since its launch, aiding Two Drifters to land key stocking accounts and being representative of a shining example of how a bottle can be fun, bright and beautiful bottle. We are consistently looking for ways we can reduce our impact on the planet, and it was an inspiration to work with a company with such strong core sustainable values.
“Verallia was a delight to work with. People have absolutely loved the new bottles. Because of our new bottles and branding, we now have placement in stores like Harvey Nichols and other key accounts.”
