Blackwater Distillery opened in County Waterford in 2015, becoming Ireland’s 21st distillery. An innovative micro-distillery, the company makes multi-awarding-winning Blackwater No.5 London Dry Gin, Blackwater Wexford Strawberry Gin, Blackwater Juniper Cask Gin, Blackwater Copper Pot Still Vodka, Boyle’s Gin, and a range of small-batch limited-edition gins. Boyle’s Gin, which is produced exclusively for Aldi Ireland, celebrated its fifth birthday by winning a double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in November 2021, while Blackwater No.5 Gin was pronounced Best Irish London Dry Gin at the World Gin Awards ] 2022. Wexford Strawberry Gin also took home Silver in the Best Flavoured Gin category (Blackwater Distillery 2022b). Blackwater Distillery has supported its innovative positioning strategy through the release of a number of limited editions, such as Barry’s Tea Gin, Tanora Gin, and Hedgerow Gin, to name a few. Blackwater Distillery is a manual distillery, which means it is filled to the brim with handles, levers, taps and dials. Everything is done by hand and eye. This invariably takes longer but is in keeping with the traditions the Blackwater team are working to emulate (Stories & Sips n.d.).

The Blackwater Tasters Club (Blackwater Distillery n.d.) launched in August 2020 as Ireland’s first online spirits subscription club. When the pub trade in Ireland closed down in March 2020 as the government responded to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company’s strategic plan to grow the brand in bars and hotels was put on hold. The pandemic also led to an emergency change in legislation in 2020, to allow for the sale of spirits online, and this enabled the company to pivot operations and focus exclusively online. Blackwater Distillery had secured a licence to sell to the public in 2019; initially intended for use within a planned new visitor facility, this licence was redirected to the online platform and the Blackwater Tasters Club was launched in August following 8–10 weeks of planning. As Blackwater Distillery CEO Peter Mulryan describes, ‘we’re a curious bunch, fizzing with ideas and, with the pubs being shut, we needed an outlet for the spirited madness’. Initially, the Tasters Club was revealed to potential subscribers through national press coverage, which drove significant traffic to the website. Satisfied customers posted their unboxing experiences and gift reviews on social media. Brand advocates and a select number of social media influencers amplified the Tasters Club unique message. Blackwater Distillery then leveraged a paid social strategy for Facebook and Instagram to grow the subscription base of the club......

Questions

1. Evaluate the key features of the subscription business model used by Blackwater Tasters Club. 

2. Identify and discuss Blackwater Tasters Club’s online value proposition (OVP). 

3. Discuss how Blackwater Tasters Club can support and communicate its OVP through its digital communications.