The founder and owner of Kin Toffee Vodka gives an insight into how to turn a hobby into an award winning product stocked by John Lewis.

Judith Wren discovered a love for toffee vodka on wintery ski slopes and created her own version in Newby Bridge which is now stocked in hundreds of locations across the UK.

The entrepreneur also received the ‘Start Up Business of the Year’ award from the North West, Wales, Ireland and Isle of Man branch of Forward Ladies and will represent the north west in a national final this December.

She was speaking to in-Cumbria as part of our “10 minutes with” series.

So, who is Judith Wren?

“I’ve lived at Newby Birdge for 30 years along with my husband Mike, it’s the Wren family business premises here so there used to be a blacksmith and it is now the base for Wrens Funerals and joiners.

“In my life I’ve always been local to the area, I went to school in Ulverston and got a job in financial services with Furness Building Society for 30 years and then I went to work at Holker Hall and my last job was as business manager at Brathay Trust in Ambleside.

“I gave up that job reluctantly because i’d become too busy working on my Kin Toffee Vodka business.”

How did Kin Toffee Vodka begin?

“The reason I do this is because I was skiing about eight years ago and went into a bar and tried the toffee vodka, I thought ‘Ooh, this is delicious’ and because I’m a dabbler I made a version of it myself and messed about with it for a few years.

“I don’t distill the vodka, but it’s a blending process and it’s the toffee recipe that makes the difference, I gave it away to my friends and family and they all loved it so i though nearly three ago that people might like this.

“I knew it was a good product so I had to get it to look good as well so I worked with a local agency to prodiuce this product and I thought if we could sell a few bottles at a local market and it pays for my ski pass then I’ll be happy.

How has the business grown?

“Basically, it started out with Mike and me filling bottles with a jug in our workshop and everywhere we went we were selling out and people loved it so we just kept going.

“I spoke to some local shops and they were very positive and after 18 months, we’ve had to get it bottled off site because no matter how quick we were with a jug and a funnel we couldn't’ keep up with it.

“We deliver on a weekly basis to shops across Cumbria, Booths have been very supportive and we’re in every one of their supermarkets now and we’ve been included in their Christmas catalogue as well.

“We’re over in Northumberland and Durham in farm shops and delis because we like to be stocked in nice places and I’ve got a stockist in Scotland as well who has a number of shops up there.

“John Lewis have taken some of them as well. We’re going to John Lewis’ shop in Sloane Square to do some tastings there in December, Moonpig.com have also taken some and Frederick Robertson Brewery is stocking us in their pubs.”

The Forward Ladies award

“The award win was a brilliant experience, my bank HSBC nominated me for the award and the nomination to went in, in April for the startup category to be considered by Forward Ladies.

“Forward Ladies is a not for profit which puts on networking events across the North to encourage and support women in business, no matter what kind they’re interested in whether its dentistry, engineering or setting up a nursery.

“I was shortlisted, and we were invited to the lunch in Manchester last Friday, there were seven other wonderful businesses in my category and I had no expectation of winning and I actually took home the award.

“I was thrilled and very very proud to have won and I go forward to the national final in Leeds in December, but I have to go to an interview day in November so that the judges can learn some more about myself and the business.

Starting your own business

“It’s really difficult to start your own business, especially with all the legislation and the red tape, so I’m really happy to be able to talk to anyone about it.

“If you’re doing it all on your own and you get knocked back, it becomes much more overwhelming so if you’ve got someone you can talk to or have a discussion with it can be useful.

“If I can help anybody, it’s absolutely fine, the more people out there and doing it the better especially in Cumbria and the north where we’re getting such a good reputation as food producers.

“I had an advantage because of my previous career, I’ve dealt with sales, marketing, PR, red tape and even something such as HMRC can be terrifying for people, but if you try and learn and not fight systems you can benefit.

“The tax man’s not going away anytime soon, but they are real people at the end of the day and you should get yourself good support from an accountant, your bank manager and the chamber of commerce.”

Kin’s ambitions

“When I started this and wrote my business plan, it was to be the chosen toffee vodka in the north west and there’s a long way to go and a massive market out there

“I want to be a recognised premium brand across the north and on a national basis.

“A funny little story, 18 months ago, we were sat in Val d’Isere and there was a group of lads from Dalton having coffees and cokes and a few got a few toffee vodkas.

“They had a swig and went ‘Yeah, it’s good but it’s not as good as the stuff at home’ and one of them mentioned that there was a bird on the bottle so I had to but in and say ‘Thank you very much lads because I make that’.

“I was so proud to hear people actually having a conversation and talking about it.”