'Creativity Matters' Podcast: Ben Branson, founder and CEO of Seedlip

‘Creativity Matters’

GUEST: BEN BRANSON

TITLE: FOUNDER & CEO

COMPANY: SEEDLIP & AECORN APERITIFS

INTRO:

This week I'm excited to be talking to Ben Branson as part of our 'Creativity Matters' series of podcasts.

Ben is the founder of Seedlip, the world's first non-alcoholic distilled spirit and just recently its sister brand, Aecorn Aperitifs.

Coming from a brand strategy background, he also grew up in a farming family and his interest in botany and 'creating' served him well when he decided to go it alone from his kitchen with a new idea to create a 'grown up' non-alcoholic drink.

Resulting in the creation of a brand new drinks category, Seedlip has successfully positioned itself as 'what to drink when you're not drinking', has been placed on the back bar of many a classy drinking establishment, and is now adorning the shelves of some of our well known supermarkets.

Welcome Ben.

Creative Moment Podcast Ben Branson

[00:01:13] How Ben, having previously worked in the creative sector, now has a proper job!

00:01:21] How influential Ben's knowledge of brand strategy was to him when creating Seedlip.

[00:02:24] How his career in brand design helped him understand what drives people to make decisions about what brands and products they choose.

[00:02:56] How the name Seedlip came about.

[00:05:13] Why the emotions of love/hate that a brand like Seedlip brings out in people are important.

[00:07:10] Why Ben puts 99 percent of Seedlip's success down to the timing.

[00:08:28] How the alcohol landscape has shifted: globally we are drinking less alcohol, but value is hugely up.

[00:08:58] Why Ben loves the energy, commitment and creativity that top cocktail bars give to a drink.

[00:09:20] "Oh you're boring" or "you can't have a good time" because your not drinking - why suddenly all those taboos and shackles seem to have been released.

[00:10:32] As a CEO looking back on his first career, what would Ben say the creative sector gets right from a brand perspective and what do they get wrong?

[00:11:18] Why proving the value of something intangible like creativity or design commercially remains a big challenge.

[00:12:11] What do creative agencies get wrong from a client perspective?

[00:12:27] Why creatives must understand that, from a business perspective, there are loads of other aspects to consider other than just what the brand might look like.

[00:13:42] Why Seedlip does most of their marketing via its in house team.

[00:15:22] Ben tells us about the experimentation of Seedlip in the early days.

[00:16:50] Why it took two years to create the Seedlip Spice product.

[00:17:29] Ben tells us what happens if you distil a pebble!

[00:20:17] Why Ben has set up the brand Acorn Aperitifs as a second business, separate to Seedlip.

[00:20:54] What it's like as a UK startup going global.