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The drinks industry is worth millions to the European economy each year, with international corporations making the most of the opportunities. Some would suspect there was no room for fledgling companies, but entrepreneur Susannah Schofield does not fall into that category. Her company, Best in Glass, showcasing wines, cocktails and spirits at private parties, is concentrating on a niche market that is already reaping dividends.
Wine connoisseurs may be tempted to turn up their finely tuned noses at the attitude of Best in Glass founder Susannah Schofield. It is a down-to-earth philosophy.
“Enjoy what you enjoy and don’t worry if you can’t tell if a wine has notes of apple or honey,” said Susannah. “If you like to drink Chardonnay then buy it and really don’t be concerned. There is an awful lot of snobbery around when it comes to wine and we wanted to make it easy for people.”
This well intentioned ambition could have remained just that – an ambition – but for Susannah it sparked the beginning of Best in Glass and her first foray into the world of the direct selling industry.
She teamed up with Sarah Rabbitt, the company’s sales and marketing director, to launch Best in Glass in July 2010 from an office at her home in Sevenoaks, Kent. The two women were able to use their extensive business experience to create the new enterprise. Susannah explained: “Both of us had careers but worked long hours and wanted to spend more time seeing our children grow up, and so we needed a flexible way of working. I loved the ethos of direct selling – that through your own hard work and self-confidence it was possible to set up a company and make it work for you.”
It was at a wine tasting party that Susannah first had the idea. “I had looked at working for other direct selling companies, but at the party we had a lot of fun and I thought it would be good for others to have the same experience,” she explained.
So Best in Glass was born, and although Susannah’s second child Willow was born just months later, the women have worked determinedly to grow the business across the United Kingdom. Willow is a regular visitor in the company’s office, along with toddler Brooke, and Susannah believes the family’s involvement has been an important part of the company’s early success.
“I go into the office with a smile on my face and really enjoy working with the team. There is a lot of laughter but it is very high paced with all of us making sure we use our time well.”
Susannah and Sarah regularly attend parties where guests are encouraged to taste wines and shown how to rustle up fruit juice based cocktails before looking through the collection. Accessories like decanters, cocktail shakers and corkscrews are big sellers. The drinks are sourced by a trusted wholesaler, with a keen eye kept on the United Kingdom’s licensing laws. The emphasis is on products not available in supermarkets, with the average bottle of wine around the £9 sterling mark.
“We want to offer products that are good values for the money and taste good, with people feeling confident that they are not available anywhere else,” said Susannah. One popular choice is Saam, a wine produced by a cooperative of farmers running vineyards in South Africa.
Susannah explained: “The organically grown wine tastes good, and like others we choose, it is from smaller vineyards that don’t have the marketing budget or clout to get it distributed to major supermarkets. Enough is produced to meet our demands and we know it is something different from what people can buy in the high street and has a nice story attached to it.”
The refreshing approach does not stop there – the seasonal brochures show wines by taste rather than more traditional options like grape or country. So, for example, if someone likes the taste of a Pinot Grigio, it is possible to see what other wines have similar qualities.
“It makes trying different wines so much easier. People find a wine they like and can then easily see what else they might try. We do not claim to be experts and it would be foolish for us to say that we are. What we do know is that we enjoy drinking wine and want to enjoy the experience,” said Susannah.
Bottles of wine higher than a £30 sterling price tag have been dropped from the company’s latest brochure as the company gets to know its customers.
“It is always worth trying something, but we found people didn’t want to buy wine for an investment; they wanted wine to drink, so we have developed that side of the business.”
Hampers packed with information about the company are sent out to new consultants, who are being signed up on a weekly basis, with no pressure on individuals to hit targets set by head office.
“We want to retain consultants and it is important that each of them feels they can work as little or as often as they want and it fits in with their lives,” said Susannah, who explained that often it was couples joining the growing network.
“Some husband and wife teams see it as an opportunity to increase their income, although the majority of our consultants are women,” said Susannah.
Expansion of the business across Europe has been discussed but the management team wants to ‘get it right before growing too big’. Talks about new initiatives in both Northern Ireland and Eire are under way and surprisingly there has been demand from Denmark. The wine producing giants like Italy, Spain and France are in the company’s sights, but for now Best in Glass is concentrating on opportunities closer to home.
“It sounds corny but we really enjoy what we are doing and have a job that we love. I can’t believe the direct selling industry has so many opportunities and it is just great to do what we are doing.”
Job satisfaction – no better reason to raise a glass!
The company can be contacted on 0844 809 4736. Website: http://www.best-in-glass.com
