Founder@ Interview
With David Davies
“Find something you are passionate about, one of the aspects of Sovereign was traveling. I’d only really been to Spain and now we trade in over 60 markets and I have been to over 90% of these. This aspect is not about a balance sheet, it’s about my enjoyment of traveling; seeing cultures / different people and growing as a individual so find something passionate” – David Davies
Today we feature David Davies, the founder at Sovereign Beverage Company Ltd.. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
I’m David Davies. I am 44 years old. I am the founder and managing director of Sovereign Beverage Company LTD, the UK’s leading premium beverage export agency. I grew up in Lytham St Annes and went to university in Salford, where I studied business and finance and then began working in the supply chain business within the beverage industry.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
The seed of Sovereign Beverages was really planted in 2006, while I was working as an Account Manager for a different company. It was there that I spotted a gap in the market in the supply chain for exporting UK beer – and the idea for Sovereign Beverage Company Ltd was born! The company was officially launched two years later.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Sovereign is a technology enabled exporter of UK beverages covering over 60 countries with 150 + of the best retailers and distributors as customers. For key suppliers, including Marstons Brewery and Thatchers etc… We have exclusivity in certain markets to sell and distribute their brands. We specialize in streamlining the export operations of UK breweries and help them get their premium products on the global stage. We have been in operation for nearly 15 years and annual sales recently topped over 12 million pints in a single year with this set to double over the coming years as part of the Vision and in the last 2 years have grown by over 50%
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
I knew from a very early age I wanted to be an entrepreneur. From the age of six I was working in my father’s business during school holidays, developing and honing my work ethic, and becoming familiar with the logistics industry. I then went on to study business and finance at the University of Salford before starting in the supply chain sector within the beverage industry. Throughout my career, my goal has always been to gain experience and then adapt it to the right business idea when it came along. I was constantly researching different business ideas, looking for a good fit, I read a lot of literature on business as a topic.
Reading and peoples stories inspired me to write my first ‘commandments’ of business. I listed my 10 commandments, and decided that any business I was going to establish would have to fulfil most, if not all of those commandments. My real ‘aha’ moment came in 2006 when I was working as an account director and I was meeting with a brewery; an offhand conversation led to the birth of Sovereign Beverage Company. I realized that the brewery in question had an untapped route for sales in the form of global export, but they had no infrastructure and the risk was too high for them to do it for themselves.
So after talking to many breweries and importers, I saw that there was a huge gap between product availability and global demand, as the breweries lacked the supply chain knowledge, time and other resources to manage their own exports. Two years later we launched Sovereign Beverage Company. Since then, we have increased our annual sales by almost 10,000% (in litres sold), expanded the team and we’ve become the UK’s leading exporter of premium beverages, with over 12 million pints sold annually worldwide in the year 2021.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
One of the biggest challenges we have faced as business has come over the past few years as a result of first the Covid pandemic and then of the Suez canal blockage. COVID-19 saw a global shut down – freight was stopped, breweries were working on a hugely reduced capacity with export operations taking a back-seat, and customers were prevented from importing goods due to their own local restrictions. For instance, South Africa and Thailand temporarily banned the sale of alcohol, Brazil and much of the EU was placed under curfew, restaurants were closed globally and when they eventually reopened, it was with much lower capacity. All of which negatively affected our customers’ sales, which in turn reduced their export needs with us. These restrictions and challenges did not improve in 2021 and were in fact exacerbated by the Suez Canal obstruction, which had a very negative impact on freight. There were still global vessel and container shortages, and production costs continued to rise. However, 2021 was our best year to date despite these difficulties.
The value of a system in gluing the sales, operation and finance functions together to provide a simple and scalable business model with instant relevant data at the touch of a button
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
– Set a clear vision where you want to take the business and in a timeframe – Get a team around you that have the right attitude and skill set that want to be coached, developed and prepared to go on the journey – Read as much as you can on business topics and experiences – Know your model, keep it simple, understand it won’t be easy and at times it’s as much about the battle as the business, don’t give up and make a difference, it’s worth it!!! What would you say to people who doubted you? Nothing it’s not their dream and in most cases a opinion, just focus on the Vision and the people / team who believe in you and the dream, be prepared to be challenged in the right way by those around you that are close in and out of the business. What would you say to yourself? Do you sometimes think you should not have become an entrepreneur? Never, it’s what I always wanted and still do
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
One key strategy for innovation we have always focused on is our systems. We have invested in our IT specialists and in an industry leading system, which we have then tailored to become bespoke to our needs and our customer’s needs. Trading in over 60 markets with over 120 customers, we have been able to develop a system that handles 95% of our orders, making them very efficient and easy to manage. Each customer and supplier has their own bespoke live dashboard within our system, giving them at-a-glance information they need about their orders, market performance, and product performance. This sets us apart from any potential competitors, and we are seen as disruptors in the industry due to our forward thinking and technological evolution. We adopted a cloud-based system in the past few years. Having several different communications options is key: 1. Video conferencing. 2. Instant messaging/email. 3. Cloud storage.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
The value of a system in gluing the sales, operation and finance functions together to provide a simple and scalable business model with instant relevant data at the touch of a button 
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
One achievement I am extremely proud of is the very fact of our survival. To have got to this point where I am finalist in the Great British Entrepreneur awards is also a real achievement. We now have a scalable, profitable, technology-driven business that is no longer in its infancy, that has come through COVID with flying colours and that is able to grow rather than furlough our team, I am so proud of that, too. I am also really proud of my team. Looking back, there are many specific achievements, but one that stands out was when we launched a beer for Iron Maiden (Trooper) – which was outside of our comfort zone at the time – however, we were able to list that beer in 40 countries in only 8 weeks, and we later found out it was the most successful international launch of a UK beer of all time.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
As a business, it is our vision to achieve the export of 100,000 hectolitres of product by 2025, as well as expanding the team and investing further in their training and development. A personal goal is to spend more time in Spain. I have a place by the sea, and I really enjoy the peaceful Mediterranean way of life – and the food! I spent some time working from there during COVID, and it’s a goal to be able to do that more.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
Find something you are passionate about, one of the aspects of Sovereign was traveling. I’d only really been to Spain and now we trade in over 60 markets and I have been to over 90% of these. This aspect is not about a balance sheet, it’s about my enjoyment of traveling; seeing cultures / different people and growing as a individual so find something passionate as the road is tough and long and you need to stick at it to make a real success Don’t have lots on the platter i.e. find a idea and stick to that, I often see businesses trying to do too much, stick to your core idea and put everything into that Create value in the supply chain for suppliers or customers Create a simple plan with actions and timings on a piece of paper, don’t over complicate it and have a clear idea of where you want to get to and by when Don’t just talk it, do it… find a way make it happen
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Sovereign Beverage Company Ltd.”
To learn more about Sovereign Beverage Company Ltd. Visit www.sovbev.com
Find on social media @
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/david-davies-35584a8b
https://www.linkedin.com/company/2895027
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