Claire's recipe suits nation's vodka drinkers down to a tea
TAKING the drinks market by storm is no easy task – but a south Lincolnshire entrepreneur is well on her way to launching her vodka tea drink to the nation.
Claire Hall (27) wants to take Percy’s – her innovative blend of fruity tea and Icelandic vodka – to supermarkets and bars across the country and has received a grant to help automate the production process to boost the numbers she can make.
She will have to match fund the 5,114.50 Innovation Support Grant she has received through the Food and Drink iNet and wants to split the cash to help her upscale production and ensure a consistent flavour.
Flavometrix will help her with the technical know-how while Nottingham Trent University experts will advise her on the machinery needed to dramatically increase the amount she can make.
Claire said: “I really want to be able to make a large run of the drink. At the moment I can make 300 bottles in a day but I need 3,000 a day and to make sure that the product is the same quality throughout.
“It will probably take around three months and I will work with them. It will be quite good for me to follow it through, keep an eye on the product and know what’s going on with the process.”
Claire, now based in Kirton Holme, dreamt up her drink around five years ago – when she felt the need for an extra kick to her tea during a particularly dull day at work in London.
The passionate businesswoman has since developed the drink using the facilities at the University of Lincoln’s Holbeach Campus – and she hopes to take the product back there to mass produce it when she has the technical knowledge.
Despite not having a food technology background, Claire has worked hard to pick up knowledge from a whole host of experts to drive forward her dream, and has also teamed up with the University of Leicester to spruce up her website.
So far she has fine-tuned the taste and look of her product, but last year she was struggling to meet the demand of her customers, not having the time to make enough.
She remains as determined as ever to make a success of the drink – which has mango, lemon and lime flavours – and hopes to target high end supermarket chains Waitrose and Booth’s once she steps up production levels.
She said: “It’s slowly but surely heading in the right direction.
“I have got a really good product and there’s a gap in the market for it both in the UK as a whole and locally but I do need that technical help to go one step further.”
She is already looking into more grants that she can apply for after she has completed her current work – and with the level of enthusiasm and determination Claire has shown Percy’s could well be destined to become a household name in the near future.
l To find out more visit www.percys-t.com
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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