Selling gin direct: online, events and the distillery shop

Why sell direct

When you sell to a drinker yourself, you keep the margin a distributor and retailer would take. You learn who buys, what they ask and what they say about the gin. You can tell your story in person.

The cost is work. You handle the licence, the stock, the payment, the packing and the customer. For a small brand this can be a sensible part of the mix, not the whole of it. Compare it with trade sales in getting craft gin into bars and shops.

Check what the law allows

Rules on direct sales differ widely. Some places allow a distillery to sell at its own premises. Some allow online sales with delivery to a licensed address. Some ban online alcohol sales or home delivery. In India, alcohol is a state subject, so what is allowed differs between states and changes over time.

Before you build a shop page, ask the regulator or a licensing adviser what your licence allows. Our outline of licensing steps shows where selling permissions fit.

The distillery shop and visits

If your premises and licence allow visitors, a shop and tasting area can be a strong sales route. Visitors see the still, meet the maker and buy a bottle. It needs safe access, supervised tasting, staff who check age and a clear limit on measures.

Visits cost time. Someone has to host, clean and restock. Count that labour in the margin. Never encourage heavy drinking. Welcome non-drinkers and remind visitors never to drink and drive.

Online sales

Where allowed, an online store needs reliable age verification, a courier that is permitted to carry alcohol, protective packaging and a returns policy. Shipping a case of glass is costly and breakage hurts.

Work out the full cost of an online order: the packing, courier, payment charge, any marketplace fee and the time to handle it. Many small brands find that a modest minimum order or a bundle makes it pay. Do the sum with your own numbers, using the method in the cost of a bottle.

Events, markets and tastings

Food and drink events, markets and festivals let people try the gin and buy on the spot. They are also regulated: you may need a temporary licence. Rules on sampling differ. Plan the cost of the stall, the staff, the stock, transport and licences against the sales you hope for.

Count the useful leads too. A bar owner who tries the gin at an event may become a trade account.

Keep prices consistent

If your direct price undercuts your trade accounts, they will notice and may drop you. Set a recommended price and keep your own shop at or near it. Use direct channels for things the trade cannot offer, such as limited editions, engraved bottles or a tour.

Margins, costs and what direct sales teach

Direct sales look generous on paper because there is no distributor margin. Then costs arrive. Take one online order of two bottles and cost it fully: the bottles, the box and fillers, the courier, the card or payment fee, the time to pack it and the cost of any breakage or return.

A hypothetical illustration: if the shelf price is 100 and an order costs 25 to pack, ship and process, the direct margin is smaller than it first looked. Compare that with what a trade sale would leave you after the distributor and retailer margins, using the price walk in pricing and positioning a craft gin. Sometimes direct wins and sometimes trade wins. The sum tells you which.

Every direct customer is a free research subject. Note which bottle size sells, which postcodes order, which serve suggestion gets asked about and what people say when they come back. This feeds your range, your price and your trade pitch.

Packing, delivery and your customer list

Glass breaks. Use packaging made for bottles, with dividers or moulded inserts. Test a box by dropping it from a realistic height before you ship. Ask your courier what they carry and what they refuse. Put a clear label on parcels where the rules require one. Use signed delivery to an adult where age checks demand it.

Track breakage and late deliveries from the first order. A refund or a replacement bottle is a direct cost. If breakage is high, change the box before you change the price.

Collect emails with clear consent and a way to leave. Do not market to minors. Follow the data and advertising rules where you operate. A modest, respectful list of people who like your gin beats a large one that ignores you.

Common questions

Can I sell gin online?

Only where the law and your licence allow it. Many places restrict or ban it. Ask your regulator or adviser first.

Is a distillery shop worth it?

It can be, if you have visitors and a licence for it. Count the staff time before you decide.

How do I check age online?

Use a method that your regulator accepts and that actually checks, not a tick box alone.

Should I discount direct?

Take care. It can upset trade accounts. Offer extras such as bundles or limited editions instead.