Innovation

The Botanery Barn is guided by nature and grounded in the belief that how something is made is just as important as what is made. Botanery Barn is focused on and committed to social and environmental causes, making sure everything they do and make will have a purpose.

Some ways that Botanery Barn is helping to make a better world along with aligning with the UN SDGs 3 and 6 is, being involved with the community there is local history within the barn and it is honoring the legacy of its culture. They are promoting sustainability within their agriculture, they are promoting sustainable practices through their focuses on botanical spirits and their gardening.

Coming from an abandoned barn to now a flourishing distillery shows the power of innovation, collaboration, and sustainability they have in creating positive changes.

Inspiration

The company is inspired by “ethnobotanical traditions of using plants for medicinal, spiritual, and culinary purposes”. Scott, the founder of Botanery Distillery, wanted to create "all-natural and one-of-a-kind spirits". Not only taking into account what physically goes into the spirits but also what goes into the process of creating the spirits as a whole. Every step of the manufacturing process is planned out thoughtfully considering the environmental impact and what they can do to limit their impact. Scott genuinely cares about the impact he and his company have on the environment. The building the Distillery and Bistro are located in speaks for that as it is a 150-year-old refurbished barn. The property itself sits on 8 acres of land with gardens and botanicals. Once you enter the barn you can immediately see Scotts' inspiration come to life. A refurbished piece of stained wood as the bar from the property itself along with many other repurposed items that add to the character of the Distilery. As for the products, every plant that goes into the spirit is specifically chosen to create a delicious and natural drink. Overall, Scotts' inspiration is driven by his passion for providing an all-natural spirit alternative while simultaneously battling the climate change crisis.

Overall impact

The short term effects of the innovation at Botanery Barn include, the culinary and beverage innovation, by using pre-prohibition tradition, Botanery Barn is more likely to create unique and distinctive flavors in their revivalist garden gin and resurgent botanical whiskeys. The processes used could attract interest from customers seeking new experiences. Another short-term effect of the innovation is the cultural engagement, Botanery Barn’s emphasis on traditional methods along with their ethnobotanical practices could spark curiosity of the cultural heritage through customers. This leads to an increase in awareness and appreciation of the historical significance of the botanicals.

The long-term effects of the innovation are the sustainable and environmental conservation, the emphasis put on sustainable practices and beekeeping can contribute to long term environmental benefits. Cultural Preservation is another long-term effect of the innovation, Botanery Barn plays a role in preserving cultural heritage and passing down their knowledge of plants to future generations, this can contribute to long-term sustainability of the cultural traditions.

Evidence supporting that these impacts have made a difference is shown when you visit the Distillery, you can tell how much work is put into making their spirits and how much the employees care about what they are doing. You can tell that they care about the history of both the barn and the area and want to uphold the reputation.

Business benefit

As a former employee of the company, my role was as a Brand Ambassador, going from event to event on weekends, setting up a tent, table, and product for people to try and, hopefully, enjoy. The Brand Ambassador role and program that is run at Botanery Barn is an amazing way to create opportunities for new markets and consumers to purchase their products.

As a Brand Ambassador, I was everywhere from street festivals and block parties, to organized alcohol tastings and conventions. These events brought in such a wide variety of people and customers, many of them who had never tried our products before but had seen us on the shelf and wanted to give it a try for a while. Others had never heard of us at all, and were blown away by the taste and quality of our gin and whiskies we had to offer. One such customer even told me he had been drinking a competitor’s gin for over 20 years, and our gin was the first time he had ever tasted one that made him consider changing his brand loyalty.

Due to events like these and having the awareness to put yourself and your brand out their in ways that give you a competitive advantage in the market is a great way to open new markets, and make your business grow. This is one of the many ways Botnaery Barn does this, and helps them grow immensely in the process. The results show too, as the Garden Gin is now about to launch nationally.

Social and environmental benefit

The innovation of Botanery Barn is constantly benefitting both society and the environment. The Botanety Barn is guided by nature, and believes that how you make something is just as important as what is made. Botanery Barn using pre-prohibtion methods to show that the process of making something is just as important as the end result. They are inspired by ethnobotanical traditions practiced by many cultures for using plants for medicinal, spiritual, and and culinary purposes. Beyond the process of the spirits they also have farm-to-table cuisine, and use sustainable farming practices. The team of botanical experts, distillers, and mixologists are inspirited by the ethnobotanical traditional and are always looking for ways to input their knowledge to use in new and sustainable ways which help how they benefit both society and the environment.

Interview

Scott Avellino, Co-Founder and COO