05 Jan Hermit Coastal Gin 1 year in new hands we look back with owner Noah Duijst
Exactly one year ago, brothers Noah Duijst and Siward de Groot took over the Dutch brand Hermit Gin.
I spoke to Noah to take stock after 1 year.
He talked about his background, why they chose precisely Hermit Gin and what their plans are for the coming years.
Image credits: Nina Slagmolen This article also appeared on www.mistercocktail.nl
You’ve been the new owner of Hermit Gin for just under a year now.
How do you look back?
Are there things that are going better than expected, or more difficult?
Siward and I have been owners of Hermit Gin for just under a year now.
Siward organized Techno events before this and I did a lot in wine with my other company ‘Amsterdam Grapes‘ in the past (nowadays we are an event and staffing agency focusing on high-end hospitality and event building).
We might have briefly overestimated how much common ground the wine and event industry has with the spirit industry haha.
It was mainly an exploratory year for us and we now know very well what direction we want to take and what the goals are for 2024.
It was a very instructive year for us and we got to know a huge number of people, this proved to be very valuable for both of us.
Besides all the things that went wrong (wrong social media strategies, sponsoring the wrong events and putting too much effort and time into things that turned out not to be worth it) we also made a lot of good choices and made some great steps!
For example, we have restored/reestablished old ties with importers in Switzerland and Japan.
We also expanded to Portugal, Curaçao, Bonaire, Italy, France, Ibiza and Germany.
So in retrospect, it was a great year to calibrate and make the brand our own.
We have some great new things coming up.
I will be the first to tell you about them when the time comes.
Image credit: Nina Slagmolen
Can you tell a little about your background? What did you do before you became the owner of Hermit gin?
Sure!
I first studied Hotel and event management at Hogeschool Tio in Utrecht.
During this study I discovered a passion for wine and then through an internship I started working at a wine café, where I eventually worked as a sommelier.
I obtained several wine diplomas while working here and also went to New York to study wine here for six months.
After completing Hotel and Event Management, I was 21 and actually wanted to learn more.
It was pretty clear to me that I wanted to do something with wine and/or events but I wanted to do it in the form of entrepreneurship.
I always knew I wanted to do business, I just didn’t know what yet!
China seemed like an interesting market so I started a bachelor’s degree in China studies at Leiden University.
I found this insanely interesting and started ‘Amsterdam Grapes’ alongside my studies.
I wanted to start importing wine from China (a new and not yet saturated market) to Europe and for that I had to speak Mandarin, was my own opinion.
Hence this choice.
In the beginning of Amsterdam Grapes, I bought up wineries and appraised wine cellars.
I sold these wines to high-end restaurants, private collectors or at auctions.
I still have a lot of nice ones from this period myself as well haha.
After trying 100 more things with Grapes, we have now evolved into a staffing and event agency.
We do event decoration, organization and supply high quality staff for high-end hospitality/fair and event venues as well as set-up staff/drivers.
Because we also supply many bartenders and cocktail shakers and do a lot of oysters (oyster girls etc) at our own events, Hermit (because of the purified Eastern Scheldt water) also seemed to me to be a nice bridge to the spirit industry.
My companies strengthen each other and so I can bring Hermit to events of Grapes and I can use staff of Grapes for activations and events of Hermit.
So I didn’t really have any real experience with spirits before this, it seemed like a great challenge and it turned out to be just that.
That, in a nutshell, is my background! 
What attracted you to Hermit Gin in particular that made you decide to buy this brand specifically?
Siward and I knew Hermit before it came our way (in this way).
We had been drinking a Hermit G&T and when we heard through the grapevine that the previous owners were open to selling it, we already had an idea about it (by the looks of the bottle, flavor profile etc).
Because Siward organized techno events, where of course G&T’s are also served and because I did and still do a lot of (culinary) events, we thought it would not be a bad idea to have an orienting conversation about where the Hermit brand stood in the market at that time, what the brand stands for and what the potential is.
Gin is obviously a category with many suppliers, we were well aware of this.
However, Hermit is a brand that stands broad and firm and which has a number of USPs that clearly distinguish it from other gin brands within the same segment.
The purified sea water, the premium character and appearance, the unique botanicals, the design and the ‘artisan’ production method make it a wonderful brand/product with enormous potential.
Both at home and abroad.
Siward and I were already looking for our next project and so this chance meeting with Hermit came at just the right time.
Can you describe what the Hermit Gin brand stands for?
Besides Hermit Gin being a gin brand, we want to move more and more towards a lifestyle brand.
We stand for an exciting, adventurous and young lifestyle while maintaining a high-end character.
Hermit Gin is a premium brand, so when we talk about adventurous and exciting we do not mean rash and naive, but rather we are there for those who dare to break new ground, are not afraid to try new things and those who like to discover things for themselves and dare to go for something!
Hermit Gin is often mentioned in the same breath as the sea and I think this description fits both our gin and the sea.
That is what we want to radiate.
In addition, the Netherlands has a centuries-long history with the sea.
As early as the 17th century, the Dutch sailed the oceans to discover the world.
This inseparable relationship the Netherlands has with the sea has not only proved positive, just look at floods we have had to deal with.
However, this has resulted in us being known worldwide as the best engineers when it comes to subduing (sea) water.
Furthermore, much of the Netherlands lives below sea level!
In short: Hermit Gin and its purified seawater symbolizes the harmonious relationship between the Netherlands and the sea.
Furthermore, with our product we want to bring people together and let them enjoy unique, new flavors together.
And why specifically did you get into gin and not whiskey, rum or anything else?
This is twofold.
On the one hand this is because it came our way via via, on the other hand gin is a familiar product to us, it is a stable and well-known category and G&T has been a staple on every menu in every pub or restaurant you step into for years.
Everyone has drunk gin, it enjoys tremendous name recognition and it has already proven that it is not a hype product.
In addition, there is increasing demand for premium products, so a combination of these two factors resulted in our acquisition of Hermit Gin.
Why did you decide to buy an existing brand and not develop/build a new one?
I had never thought of my own gin/drink brand before Hermit.
Maybe it crossed my mind once but never anything serious or concrete.
So the fact that Hermit Gin came our way was a huge opportunity.
Hermit Gin is available at many fine stores throughout the Netherlands (and abroad) and we are also available at many Gall & Gall’s.
So Hermit was already a serious brand.
We could of course choose to come up with something ourselves, but Hermit Gin is a wonderful brand that has already proven its worth.
It is now up to us to put our own spin on it and build on it.
As I said, we’ll have more on this soon.
How do you see the challenges within the category?
The enormous growth of the gin category has stagnated, but it has proven to be a stable category and let’s not forget that outside the Randstad and all the leading European countries the G&T hype is not over yet.
Besides this, gin is still popular, we just have to show more of the quality of our gin because we believe that in the coming years the wheat will be separated from the chaff.
We are going to make sure we are on the right side then.
We also have to remember that gin can be used well in many cocktails.
Cocktails like Clover Club, Gin Basil Smash and Martini variations are attracting tremendous interest and this is also contributing to the growth of the category.
So let’s not get blinded by the fact that there are 5 G&Ts on a menu instead of 10, because we only see possibilities.
Then let’s get on the G&T and cocktail menu.
How do you ensure that every bar and gin lover in the Netherlands knows you?
We work with Wonderful Drinks for our distribution.
They really have a talented and enthusiastic team and are known in the Netherlands for their high-quality products.
We do a lot of trade shows and events together with the other brands and I think we can only strengthen each other this way.
We have recently hired a sales manager who will help us professionalize as a company.
Thijs Spelberg (before Anker Spirits and Diageo respectively) has a lot of knowledge of the market and a large network.
We immediately had a good click with Thijs and like us, and many others, he sees the enormous potential of Hermit Gin as a gin and lifestyle brand.
Furthermore, we are expanding our team even more from January 2024.
There will be two more employees to join our marketing and sales team.
We are also going to focus a lot on events and collaborations in the coming year.
We are working on flagship stores throughout the Netherlands and we also want to do regular events at well-known locations in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague.
Furthermore, we are coming Q1 next year with some new, exciting developments!!!
Hermit Gin goes beautifully with Hermit Gin.
Image credit: Nina Slagmolen
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