[Pictured from left to right] Leanne Welch (Operations), Tailah Welch (Design), Kathleen Davies (Founder), & Phoebe Scutts (Marketing & Communications).
Nip of Courage has been selected as a recipient of the ‘Boosting Female Founders Grant’ in an initiative backed by The Australian Federal Government. Founder and female entrepreneur Kathleen Davies has embarked on a two year project investing one million dollars into stimulating growth for the Australian craft spirits industry during one of Australia’s toughest economic downturns. The grant will provide a portion of much needed investment to the craft spirits industry within Australia. Davies and her predominantly female team will work closely with local distributors and a large number of emerging craft distilleries to increase market share and visibility in both domestic and international markets. One of these projects – NOC Wholesale – was officially announced in November 2020, and will provide a national logistics and warehousing solution exclusively for Australian distilleries. With the help of the additional funding, Nip of Courage will also revitalise The Community Spirit campaign in 2021, promoting regional Australian distilleries and their communities.
There are approximately three hundred Australian craft distilleries located predominantly in regional areas where the economies are fragile and the job opportunities are limited. The emerging industry currently represents less than 1% in terms of volume and value in the Australian marketplace. Nip of Courage has been chosen from a pool of over 2,200 applicants by an independent assessment committee to receive the Boosting Female Founders Grant to assist in championing and growing the craft spirits sector in Australia.
Davies’ goal is to transform start up distilleries in the emerging craft spirit market into high performing businesses through rigorous planning and development. This will include industry seminars, a national distribution strategy, a strong focus on brand and marketing, production capabilities, and innovation and resilience to cope with a changing market place. Lack of business acumen and strategic planning is something that is desperately suppressing the growth of the industry compared to overseas markets.
The Boosting Female Founders Initiative provides female founders of start-up businesses with funding to launch and scale their businesses into domestic and global markets. It will help female entrepreneurs overcome the disadvantages they face in getting access to finance and support to grow their start-ups. Targeted support will be on a co-contribution basis.
We are proud to be able to support the Australian craft spirits industry with the backing of The Australian federal government's initiative. This announcement comes only days after Nip of Courage took home an international 'Ethical Award' from The Spirits Business UK for stepping up to assist Australian craft distillers affected by bushfires earlier this year. The bushfire project called The Community Spirit was a collaboration funded by Spirits & Cocktails Australia.
"This year has been a very emotional one with lots of lows and not too many highs for the entire industry. It has made us realise the importance of positive team culture and resilience. The team was overwhelmed with this announcement. Bring on 2021!"
- Leanne Welch
Comments