Page 139 - Case Lab Summary

Chase is now at a similar stage of development that he experienced

with Tyrrells Chips the difference is that he plans to take Chase
Distillery forward under his own steam and funding but applying the
lessons of management, finance, branding and production hard won

at Tyrrells.

Chase realised that there was an opportunity to turn a cheap product
– potatoes – into a highly-priced product like crisps. Tyrrell's Potato
Chips were positioned as gourmet, hand-made crisps and were sold

in carefully selected outlets — upmarket delicatessens, gastro-pubs
and stores like Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harrods. Indeed, in

2006, Will even took legal action to stop Tesco from stocking his
crisps.

This model was taken by Chase and applied to his distillery venture
but adapted by dint of his experiences and with the help of his
family.

So! the Williams Chase distillery was born. However, Chase was
shocked by how little volume he produced: 16 tonnes of potatoes
produced only 1000 litres of alcohol! Which after 40 hours was very

disheartening but it is testament to the quality of the vodka.

Where rival small producers simply buy cheap base spirits made
from grain for 25p a liter, which are then run through their own stills,

Chase’s protracted and vertically integrated processes bring the costs
up to around £4 a liter; it takes 250 potatoes to make each bottle of
Chase Vodka - it’s the distillery’s USP.

At the heart of the distillery is a 70ft tall (one of the highest in the
World) rectification column. From this Chase distils his vodka 119
times, the big-name rivals manage to use "triple distilled" as a selling

point which is the industry entry level.