Two friends have been on a whirlwind journey since starting their alcohol brand back in 2016. Friends Charlie Morgan, 26, and Jackson Quinn, 29, spotted a gap in the market and after a bright idea and a big vision their Vodka has now become world renowned.
The pair from Swansea are the creators of the brand Au Vodka which stemmed from watching their pals unwrap bottles of their favourite vodka for their 18th, 19th, or 20th birthdays, and dreamed of creating their own alcohol with a difference.
Charlie and Jackson started off producing 2,000 bottles and launched their product in a few local bars around their home city. Word of mouth helped the band build up a great reputation as well as attracting attention on Instagram thanks to its trademark eye-catching gold bottle.
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Someone then came along who was very influential to the brand's future, DJ, producer and TV presenter Charlie Sloth. The pair asked him if he wanted to have a free bottle to try for himself, and he was so impressed that he invested in the company and became business partners with the pair, reports Wales Online.
From its early stages of a one-time limited run of 2,000 bottles to now manufacturing 35,000 bottles daily, the brand has experienced skyrocketing growth as it has become a game changer within the alcohol industry.
It now has an expanded range of seven flavours including Au Original, Black Grape, Fruit Punch, Blue Raspberry, Green Watermelon, Red Cherry and Pineapple Crush, along with a limited edition Double Espresso Coffee Liqueur released in December of 2021. Four flavours are stocked within hundreds of Tesco stores UK wide, and it will expand into Sainsbury's and Asda this coming October. You can also find it at Wetherspoons and Marstons pubs.
The brand has enjoyed international expansion, and is now sold in 40 countries across the globe from Dubai, to Australia, Spain, the Netherlands and, most recently, 32 states across America. It has also gained entry into huge international venues, specifically launching within O Beach Ibiza this Summer, known worldwide for its incredible pool parties on the original party island. There's even a giant Au gold bottle that dangles over the event.
It has been recognised as the most popular vodka brand on the internet by world-renowned digital magazine, The Spirits Business, whilst Charlie and Jackson entered The Times Young Rich List this year, placing 24th with an estimated £40 million each. The Times also named Au Vodka as the number one company to watch in 2023. The brand's rapid growth on social media has seen it achieve 630,000 followers across all social media platforms, with 227,000 on TikTok alone. It was also named the UK’s fastest growing online company from 2019-2020 by Brightpearl with a net growth of more than 10,000%.
And it has also provided a boost for the local economy, with an increase in staff from an initial handful to more than 50 dedicated full-time staff working out of newly renovated Swansea headquarters, with dedicated workspaces and a 100,000 square foot warehouse to accommodate the increasing staff and product demand. There are also full-time staff working out of the USA and across Europe.
Soon, Au Vodka will launch in America, having signed a deal with Total Wine Liquor stores to stock the product. It has a dedicated team working both out of the USA and the UK on its entrance into the US market, and has recently launched an online E-commerce store for US customers to pre-order.
Earlier this year, we reported how the company wrapped a £120,000 Lamborghini in its iconic gold colour in a giveaway which became the UK's biggest ever by a company. The car is likely now being driven around on the streets of Swindon after a person from the southwest town won the competition.
In its most recent extension to its offerings, Au Vodka launched two new summer products, Blue Raspberry Ready to Drink cans and Blue Raspberry Ice Lollies which created a huge buzz online, with the lollies selling out within six hours of being launched. Over two million cans have now officially been sold to customers, convenience stores and national wholesalers.
Stopping to acknowledge their astonishing success, Mr Morgan said: “It’s almost hard to take a moment to reflect when we have the next big project coming up and there is always something new we’re working on. But, looking back on how far we have come, it’s been such an immense journey with plenty of milestones hit and definitely so much more to come.
“A big milestone for us was entering huge multinational grocers, Tesco. It was a big moment for us, seeing our flavours stocked on the shelves of stores nationwide. We now have four flavours available in Tesco including, Blue Raspberry, Red Cherry, Pineapple Crush and our Double Espresso Coffee Liqueur, with much more to come. We’re also going into Sainsbury’s and Asda in October which will also be a surreal moment for us, not to mention that we're also stocked in hundreds of Wetherspoons across the country.
“International expansion of the brand has proved to be another success for us, we’re now sold in over 40 countries worldwide. Having E-commerce stores in Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, among many others, allows customers in these countries to order our vodka straight to their doors. This year we even launched in O Beach Ibiza, the venue famous for its iconic pool parties on the original party island so this was a big moment for us too. They even have a giant Au Vodka Gold Bottle which circles its way above the outdoor venue.
Mr Morgan added:“We saw a big gap in the market that we could infiltrate Au Vodka into so this summer we released new Blue Raspberry Ready to Drink (RTD) cans. It was the perfect time for us to expand into the RTD sector, with the weather heating up, customers were looking for a simple, more stylish and extremely refreshing alternative to the normal drinking cans. The launch had a great response, with over two million cans having now sold to online customers, convenience stores and nationwide wholesalers, distinctly proving that this was a great move for us to make. We’ve even received incredible interest on our other flavours in the form of pre-mixed cans.
“The coming year, our focus is really on smashing into the American market. We have recently launched our E-commerce platform covering 31 states across the US so customers are already able to get our products delivered straight to their door. Having had over 28,000 sign-ups to the USA website prior to launch we’re expecting that there will be a huge interest in Au Vodka within the states.
"The vision is for Au Vodka to become a truly global brand, known in an instant for its unique gold branding and coloured liquids, we see the bottles being stocked on shelves internationally and becoming accessible for customers in every corner of the world. We also want to ensure we continue to dominate the UK Vodka market, keeping a tight grip on where we started to ensure the brand is true to its roots, there’s always room for more growth everywhere."
Mr Quinn added: "‘It is huge for us, personally, it’s a remarkable achievement having grown this company into what it is today. It was always a dream to hit this kind of level of success and having got to this point, there is no slowing down for us now, there’s a lot bigger moves in the pipeline to come for Au Vodka. We’ve got an incredibly talented team, all of whom have become vital in the mechanics of Au Vodka and are equally behind every new milestone we hit.
“Our target has always been to enter the USA market. This year we focused on not only entering the USA market but smashing it. Having signed a deal with well-known and trusted liquor retailer Total Wine, when our gold bottles reach shelves, we’re sure that they will pretty much sell themselves. Additionally, we have signed with RNDC, one of the world’s largest alcohol distributors, who evidently believe that the brand is going to be a success.
“We’ve essentially created an online community, having acquired over 630,000 followers across our multiple social platforms, this in itself is a huge achievement for an alcohol brand. We’ve really tapped into the growth of platforms such as TikTok, now our fastest growing social platform, currently sitting at 227,000 followers, we often see our videos hitting viral levels which is crazy. We were recently recognised as being the most popular vodka brand on the internet too, hence proving that our marketing and social strategies are inherent in driving Au Vodka’s brand awareness.
“Not only did we release the new Ready to Drink cans but we also launched a limited number of Blue .Raspberry Ice Lollies that sold out in six hours. It was one of our biggest launches to date, demonstrating that Au Vodka can be versatile in its collection offerings. The product has been such an enormous social success, instantly going viral on TikTok, being picked up by international blog pages and receiving mass press coverage.
“Our aim inevitably is to become Wales’s first Unicorn company, hitting this unbelievable milestone would prove to be such an enormous journey from the two mates who initially started a vodka brand in Swansea.”
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