Wayne’s world of old-fashioned drinks boosted by going digital

Old-fashioned Ginger Wine from Bangor is proving increasingly popular with lovers of traditional non-alcoholic drinks in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wayne Adair, the founder and managing director of Papas Minerals, has seen sales of his own recipe minerals like Ginger Wine spiral in the post-Christmas lockdown from a decision to invest in the latest digital technology.

Consignments of the wine, including a sugar-free version, as well as cordials with elderflower, clove, spiced winterberry flavours and sarsaparilla are now being shipped from the company’s North Down operation to customers throughout the UK and Ireland. Inquiries have also been logged from the US.

Wayne explains: “We set up the e-commerce site just before Christmas and ahead of the current pandemic lockdown challenge to our small business. Much of our business was impacted adversely by the closure of hospitality outlets, markets including St George’s in Belfast, and specialist shops during the first lockdown.

“We usually did good business at the annual Christmas and Easter Continental markets in Belfast and other centres such as Glasgow and Galway. These were all cancelled. So, we had to take radical action to ensure the future of our artisan business.

Investing in the latest digital technology was costly for us, he continues, but it proved to be “a very wise decision that has driven sales”. “We were grateful to receive support from InterTrade Ireland towards the costs,” he says.

“The additional business in Britain and the Irish Republic has certainly increased our profile in both markets and given us a platform for further growth after the pandemic,” he adds. “We had been thinking about embracing digital technology for some time. The pandemic forced our hand,” says Wayne.

The company’s unique ginger wine is leading the charge in Britain and the Republic. “As people find it cost-effective to order six bottles, they have been choosing a range of minerals in glass bottles which are easily recycled. They’ve also been picking spiced winterberry, clove and a peppermint.”

The company, furthermore, had seen a rapid growth in digital sales of its contemporary Longbridge branded mixers for spirits including ginger ale, traditional tonic and raspberry and rose tonic throughout the UK and Irish Republic.

The traditional craft minerals are produced from original recipes without artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners, he continues.

Wayne, who founded the award winning craft business in 1999, says the high growth, especially in Britain, has also been influenced by increasing interest in traditional artisan products with provenance and heritage.

“We are finding increasingly that people of all ages are looking for different tastes from artisans who have total control over their products,” he says. “Our minerals are all handcrafted and bottled from my original recipes and using fully traceable ingredients. Customers can count on different flavours from consistently high quality non-alcoholic beverages,” he explains. Papas Minerals produces its range of soft drinks in 750ml glass bottles, also hand labelled.

Wayne began making non-alcoholic ginger wine as a youngster. He’d seen his grandmother making the cordial and decided to have a go at producing his own. He was 10 when he first began using milk bottles for the cordial he’d mixed using his grandmother’s highly original recipe. Family and friends loved it, encouraging Wayne to think about starting a small business.

His first business venture, however, was to take over an ice cream parlour on Bangor’s now rather delapidated Queen’s Parade. “I took over the shop, Papa Capaldi’s Italian ice cream business in 1999 and began selling ice cream, my first small business,” he says.

But business was tough on the parade, once the heart of Bangor but now one of the town’s most run down districts. Ambituous plans to regenerate the district in front of the harbour and the famed Pickie Pool are in place.

“The situation forced me to look at something beyond ice cream especially in the winter months,” he continues. “I decided to put my original idea about developing traditional lemonade and cordials in to operation, a bit of a diversification to help cash flow.

“I began making the cordials in the shop and selling them to customers. They seemed to like the idea of old-fashioned flavours such as elderflower, clove, sarsaparilla, non-alcoholic drinks from a bygone era. I reckoned the cordials would help offset the usual downturn in ice cream sales during the winter - hence winter warmers such as winterberry cordial. I could scarely have guessed that the drinks would become such a successful all year round feature, which they have.” They’ve now become his sole business.

“Our minerals are all handcrafted and bottled from original recipes and using traceable ingredients. Customers can count on different flavours from consistently high quality non-alcoholic beverages,” adds Wayne.

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