_Gritchie: Business transformation amid a pandemic is no small beer

The outbreak of Covid-19 has given many rural landowners and estate managers a crash course in creative thinking to ensure their businesses can continue to thrive.

Restrictions on movement have imposed unprecedented challenges on rural supply chains. Whilst the British government has stepped in to aid some businesses with the furlough scheme, Knight Frank is offering advice and support to estate owners who are working tirelessly to redeploy staff and keep their businesses operational despite social distancing.

Film director, writer and producer, Guy Ritchie, owns Gritchie Brewing Company, located at the beautiful Ashgrove Farm in rural Wiltshire. Although the Gritchie team had hatched early plans to sell online, the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak meant they had to work quickly to accelerate the process, to protect jobs and continue supplying customers.

Above: Ashgrove Farm in Wiltshire

Gritchie had already invested in bottling equipment in 2019 but needed to make more operational changes to meet the needs of a bigger consumer group of bottle-drinkers, buying in different ways from the now-closed, keg-seeking pubs and restaurants.

Knight Frank’s Rural Team and the Gritchie Estate and Brewery Team conducted a full business review in light of this changing consumer demand. Together, they agreed on a strategic plan to ramp up online sales – connecting the Gritchie brand with a wider market of beer drinkers than ever before. 

This approach meant the brewery could retain its staff and its market share, with no dependency on the furlough scheme. 

Above: Gritchie have been able to retain their staff and keep their business running

"To assist Gritchie in making this operational shift to mass-market online sales, it was really important for us to get their systems right,” says Elin Jones, Senior Commercial Accountant at Knight Frank.

“We had some specific ideas from a financial point of view and put them into practice via new online payment sources that could be integrated with Gritchie’s website. We also migrated them onto a cloud-based accounting system that talks to the brewery’s specialist software for managing the sales and supply process.”  

Gritchie are now selling two of their beers online; an IPA called Session Lore and a lager called Angel’s Lore, alongside a variety of other merchandise. Sales are picking up more quickly than expected, says Jones, helped along by the brewing team’s social media presence.

Above: Gritchie's brewery plant 

Jordan Mace, Sales and Commercial Director for Gritchie said of the results: “I am really pleased with how the business has responded and adapted. By going online Gritchie beer is now able to reach a wider audience, particularly during these difficult times. 

“By working as a team to an agreed strategy, we’ve brought our products online quickly and allowed the business to retain jobs and keep our employees working.”  

Knight Frank can offer strategic advice on new trading operations and business diversification, as well as continuity plans during times of upheaval. Want to discuss your rural business? Contact the team at rural@knightfrank.com 

If you fancy a Gritchie brew, head over to www.gritchiebrew.com/shop