Page 9 - Food&Drink magazine April 2022

RISINGSTAR ✷
REVELLING IN
THE CHARACTERS
The most important part of Sip’er is what inspired us to set it up in the first place, the storytelling. We love hearing about the people who make the drinks we drink (and sell), it adds another level of appreciation and understanding as well as making the product more accessible.
Telling the stories and showcasing the personalities of these incredible women helps break down the (sometimes) intimidating walls between boutique drinks and consumers.
After those early chats at Sausage Queen Brewing with Chrissy Flanagan, it felt right for our first producer profile and first products on the platform to be Flanagan and her brews.
She is also hilarious, and regaled us with stories about online dating, Albo (Anthony Albanese) drinking her beer, and we love her unapologetic views on the alcohol industry, “dudes aren’t the only people that drink beer”.
And Bec Dugmore, with her side label Kin Wines, was not far behind. She owns wine label The Stoke with her husband Nick, but Kin is about her love of chardonnay and the Adelaide Hills.
Dugmore’s philosophy also resonated with ours: that if you have to talk yourself into liking a wine, it hasn’t done its job.
As Dugmore says, wine
shouldn’t be controversially delicious or something you think you should like because everyone else does. It should speak to you and that is the only thing that matters.
Her insights on being a woman in a male dominated industry also reflect what we hear all the time.
Dugmore talks openly about how hard it can be to put yourself out there into a space that seems to be full of young “just had a go” guys who have the arrogance to stand up and be like “woah, look I made this thing, it’s amazing”.
For both Flanagan and Dugmore, one of their main aims is to remove any self-doubt their customers have and instead build their confidence to try new things.
Flanagan talks about fearlessness and encouraging everyone to “give things a crack”. She is the first to say that some beers will be easy drinking and delicious while some some will just be too much or not up your alley. And as Flanagan says, “that’s cool”.
Talking to like-minded women like Chrissy and Bec solidifies everything we are trying to achieve.
Our aim for Sip’er is to celebrate women in the drinks industry and continue the conversation about female producers. We believe we’re headed in the right direction. ✷
ABOVE: Sip’er founders and adventurous drinkers Bree Nicholls and Jenny Cheng.
LEFT: Kin Wines and Sausage Queen Brewing are two brands stocked by Sip’er.
BELOW: Showcasing women in the industry helps break down barriers between consumer and producer while also celebrating women in the industry.
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www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | April 2022 | Food&Drink business | 9