May 6, 2025 • 24 mins
National Police Week is May 11-17 in the US. Host Jimmy Moreland and MHW's Brigid McCabe chat with Golden Bay Distillery cofounder and CEO PJ Andersson about his brand's partnership with the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
This episode is a masterclass in brand storytelling, and demonstrating brand authenticity through concrete action paired with intentional marketing strategy.
Find out more about National Police Week: Website
Visit Golden Bay Distillery: Website
More info about MHW at https://www.mhwltd.com/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the MHW Mark podcast, where we take deep
dives into various aspects ofthe alcohol industry.
My name is Jimmy Moreland.
Mhw is a US and EU beveragealcohol importer, distributor
and service provider Co-hostingwith me.
Today I am pleased to welcomeback MHW's Bridget McCabe.
How you been.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hi there, jimmy, I'm doing well.
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm very, very well.
We're having fun.
Today we're doing something alittle bit unusual in that we're
back after a one-week break.
Usually we do two weeks,sometimes longer.
Why are we coming back soquickly?
Can you tell us why?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
We have so much great content in the hopper for all
of the listeners.
We have so much great contentin the hopper for all of the
listeners.
Just so many wonderful MHWbrands that we're working with
that are really coming alivethis spring to activate in the
US.
There's a lot that is going onin terms of trade associations
and events coming up.
We want to make sure that youdon't miss a second of it.
Obviously, with what's going onin the larger economic
(01:06):
environment, with tariffs andthat kind of thing, marketing
and sales is even more importantright now.
So we want to give youlisteners a great edge on how
you can bring your brand forwardand connect with retailers and
consumers alike.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
And the brand that we're talking with today is
really interesting.
I think that folks will reallyenjoy the conversation and I say
it during the conversation thisfounder is so laser focused on
telling a story.
He just oozes authenticity,Like clearly this is something
that's really important to himon a personal level and it just
(01:38):
oozes through his brand and thestory.
And we've planned this out towhere this episode will actually
drop in the week leading up toNational Police Week.
And can you tell us why wemight have planned it that way,
Bridget?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
On purpose.
This is a brand with purposeand we have purpose when we're
dropping the podcast.
So, yeah, we're really excited.
Golden Bay Distillery, like Imentioned, is a brand with
purpose and they are activatingfor National Police Week, coming
up starting Sunday, may 11th,in several of MHW's markets.
So you know it's something that, with chatting with PJ about
(02:15):
some of the plans for the brand,that what we saw was really an
inspirational model.
He is donating 100% of proceedsfor one of his SKUs, champion
Gin, towards this.
So really excited to kind ofhear more about the National Law
Enforcement Memorial Fund, whatthe brand is doing, but then
(02:35):
also some advice for brands whoare thinking about incorporating
a charitable component into thefabric of their brand and their
story and how to find the mostauthentic and genuine way to do
that.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
It's a great conversation, so let's jump
right into it.
Our guest today is the CEO andco-founder of Golden Bay
Distillery.
Welcome to the show, PJAnderson.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Thank you very much.
I'm super happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
It's great to have you here.
It's great to have you herelocally, at least in the same
time zone.
Can you please tell us a littlebit about yourself, PJ, and why
I might have just made thatcomment?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Sure, no problem.
So very international, bornSouth African, lived in London,
afterwards went to Tokyo forfive years, new York for ten
years, hong Kong for five years,new York for 10 years, hong
Kong for 10 years, back to theUS now for the past sort of five
years, and now I'm based here.
(03:32):
But, as you know, I have adistillery in New Zealand, so we
do have a few things going on.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Well, let's get to that.
As much as I'd love to havesome Japan chat, because I lived
there for a few years, but wegot to stay on topic here.
Talk about the distillery, Tellus about the when, the where,
the why, how it came to be andhow you came to be on this
podcast chatting about it.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
So I'll start off with how we ended up getting
into the alcohol industry.
So my silly joke is I wanted todo something fun and
intoxicating after many years infinance, and clearly booze is
top of the business for both ofthose.
What I didn't quite get was thecash flow that we're still
working about, but the fun isthere and really, I'll be
(04:16):
perfectly honest, this is apurpose thing for us.
We've been super grateful withwhat experiences we've had, and
now it's a give back for us, soeverything we're doing is really
around that, and so we've beengiven a platform to do that, and
so that's how I ended up here.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
That's incredible.
Thanks for joining us, PJ, andI know you've been a longtime
MHW client many years.
Recently we chatted and you letme know that your brand has
established an officialpartnership with the National
Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.
Can you tell us a little bitabout this memorial fund?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
So the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Fund is based in DC.
They do three very importantthings.
The first thing is they managethe memorial where officers'
line of duty deaths are recorded.
The second thing they do isthey tell the American law
enforcement story.
And then the third thing isthey do is that they focus on
reducing in-line-of-duty deaths.
(05:08):
So three very important thingsthat that organization does.
And obviously they areintricately involved in Police
Week, which, if anybody has anopportunity to attend Police
Week, it is worth doing.
It is a most moving experience.
There's a vigil on the lawns infront of the Capitol.
(05:30):
There's not a dry eye in thewhole place.
If you get a chance, bring yourkids.
This is a place to come and geta real sense of what law
enforcement does for us.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Can you share about the product developed and
inspired by this Memorial Fundand Police Week, and can you
tell us more about thepartnership that you've
developed around this?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
So you know, we own a brand called Champions Gin, and
Champions Gin is all aboutchampions in the community, and
for us, there are few betterexamples than law enforcement
men and women of being champions.
They put themselves in the lineof danger for us, so they
champion everyday other people,and so the opportunity to be
able to tell the National LawEnforcement Officers Memorial
(06:15):
Fund is an honor for us, andwhat we did is we've created a
bottle which it's personalizablefor officers' names.
It has a blue light on it andso very, very symbolic, and the
whole idea behind that brand isaround the principle of some
gave a lot, others gave it all.
We give 100% of the money,which is over $20 a bottle, to
(06:37):
that important cause, and ourgoal is to sell as many of those
bottles as possible.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
That's so great to hear that, and I think a lot of
brands are looking to do oractivate similarly.
However, I think for that to bereally grounded in your ethos
of the distillery and not justsort of like a innovation skew
or something to kind of do onthe side the fact that it is
throughout your entire brandfabric is really, really
(07:05):
impressive, and we're so happyto have you on as clients.
I appreciate you.
There's one thing I wanted totouch on.
One thing I was reallyimpressed about when we chatted
was that you had put togethersome really smart programming
for activating in-market forNational Police Week starting
Sunday, May 11th.
Are you able to share with ussome of that strategy and how
that came about?
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Sure, sure, sure so as it comes to the activation of
it.
So what we've done is we'vecreated an activation which is
called Paint the Bar Blue and,as I mentioned, the whole ethos
of this is about being gratefulfor the champions in community.
And so our idea is that,through the product which we
(07:46):
donate, 100% of the money let mejust say 100% of the money goes
to the National Law EnforcementOffice Memorial Fund.
That's over $20 a bottle.
What we, through the paint thebar blue, is that the bar owner
and the bartenders are able totell the National Law
Enforcement story and in that wethen have the effect of
(08:10):
expressing gratitude to lawenforcement.
And the idea is pretty simpleit's three cocktails, all with a
blue tinge to them, all withChampions Gin in it, and,
because we have a big give onthe back end, all the bartenders
and all the bar owners have todo is serve the gin.
And we're doing activations.
We've got our first one atArugas on May 1st, and people
(08:33):
are going to show up to saythank you to law enforcement,
and what you'd like to say isyou're going to pour with a
purpose as a bartender andyou're going to sip with a
purpose as a community member.
So I think it works pretty well.
And obviously I want to go backto it's the platform of the
National Law EnforcementOfficers Memorial Fund that it's
all about.
It's their story.
(08:53):
I mean, what they do for us isthe first thing they do is they
run a memorial, and I think it'simportant that everyone knows
that there were 345 line of dutydeaths and those 345 names are
going on a wall and that'spretty serious, and so we're
able to help with that.
We're able to help tell thestory of law enforcement in
(09:13):
America.
And then the third thing isthey spend a lot of time
learning.
How do we take down the numberin the line of duty deaths?
So the National Law EnforcementOfficers Memorial Fund is doing
an amazing job and so we'resuper proud to be here to be
able to tell their story, andthat adds a little bit of
purpose to what we do, which youknow get some gray hairs like
me.
It's that time of your lifethat, uh, and especially, you
(09:37):
call the brand a champion.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
You know you better champion things and you better
be a champion you know, I lovethe fact, when you're talking
about this, that you're bringingit into the local communities
because I think the connectivityof it and you know even
bringing it to the on-prem,because I think the connectivity
of it and you know evenbringing it to the on-premise
level, in specific, likeneighborhoods, it's really
important to tie everyonetogether.
And you know, jimmy served inthe military and I have a lot of
connections in the fire force,so not the police force but FDNY
(10:02):
.
So you know, civil service iscertainly something that I think
involves all of the communitiesand I think it's really smart
to kind of give back in that way.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
And watch both those spaces in time just as a little
forward.
But my boys are both involunteer fire, so watch that
space.
And military, you know.
Again, these are all championsand we should recognize them.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And what would your top two to three pieces of
advice be that you give to otherbeverage alcoholic brands who
are seeking to activate acharitable component of their
brand?
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I think the first one is do as I say, don't do as I
do.
You know I'm still learninglots of lessons about building a
profitable business, butcertainly you know, obviously
we're big beliefs and purpose,you know, and at the end of the
day is obviously the path thatwe're down.
The important thing, when youthink about the purpose and the
partnership, is really threethings that I'd throw out to
(10:58):
incorporate.
The first thing is you've gotto be authentic.
This is not sticking a label onsomething.
It's about the integrity of thebrand and, as you highlighted
earlier, champion's Gin to itscause, cause about being a
champion and telling otherpeople's stories.
So it's really while we wake upin the morning.
So from that perspective it'seasy.
The second thing is that youreally need to think about
(11:21):
integrating that missioncompletely into the brand.
You know it's not justactivation.
Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, it'sactually about the label, it's
about the product, it's aboutthe story, it's completely
integrated.
And then the third thing we sayis that you've got to give the
platform to that purpose thatyou're serving.
So for us, it's all about theNational Law Enforcement
(11:42):
Officers Memorial Fund.
It's their voice, it's theirstory that we want to tell and
we want to use that storybecause that's where the magic
is.
Like, you know, this is not abottle of gin, this is a mission
in a bottle.
Like that's the cool thing andthat's what gives us the ability
, you know, and the energy torun at walls all day.
But again, there's a lot ofpeople who do a lot more
(12:02):
difficult things.
You know, one thing I'll sharewith you that always strikes me
when we think about the lawenforcement is that every day,
they leave the home not knowingif they're coming home.
Think about that.
I mean, it's pretty scary.
And again, ability to tell thatstory and have people
appreciate exactly what they do,say thank you, express some
gratitude that's hopefully whatthe Champions' Journey Heroes
(12:24):
Edition can help do.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
On this podcast.
We've been doing this fornearly two years now.
If there has been any throughline with every brand that we've
talked with, it has beenauthenticity and story are some
of the big keys to success andyou've done an excellent job of
just man.
If you have been coached onmessage, give that coach a raise
.
And if you haven't been coachedon message, well then we
(12:48):
perhaps need to hire you as anindependent consultant for some
of these brands, because, wow,just the focus and discipline on
that message is reallyimpressive and it's something
that I hope the brands out theredo take to heart.
Let's step aside from that.
Let's talk about the liquid andlet's talk about the physical
distillery.
You know I'm a geography nerdso I looked up physically where
(13:11):
Golden Bay Distillery is, thereon the north end of the South
Island of New Zealand.
Can you talk about thedistillery itself, the
production of the liquid, whatgoes into the bottle, the label?
Can you talk about that endsort of the nuts and bolts of it
?
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Absolutely.
Golden Bay Distillery ispositioned on the South Island
of New Zealand.
We're in the northwest corner,right in the middle of a
national park, and when I saywe're in a green part of New
Zealand, people aren't probablygoing to consider because
they're like all of NewZealand's green.
I'm talking a green part of NewZealand.
So we sit on the clearestspring water in the world,
(13:47):
certified by NIWA.
Now our distillery feeds anaquifer, obviously to get the
water, so that water has aviscosity and a flavor profile
that we think is super special.
So that's one of theinteresting things.
The second thing is that it'sall family owned.
You know ourselves and mypartner previous partner Terry
(14:09):
unfortunately Terry passed awaycreated a family distillery with
a family actively involved.
Terry's built a big distillery.
Terry was a man who saw afuture before others did, and
what I mean by that is that ourdistillery has enough room for
trucks to drive through it.
His father was a wealthy man,gave him the money and Terry
(14:31):
went all in, but obviously thatallows us, as we grow our story,
to be able to deliver product.
So I'm truly blessed for thevision that Terry set us on well
ahead of our time.
You know, terry was built in themiddle of the Aroa Lodge, in
(14:52):
the middle of the Abel Tasman.
So what does that mean?
He shipped over tons ofmaterials because the only way
to get to this place is tohelicopter in or hike in, and
Terry said I'm going to build alodge here.
People said, terry, you lostyour mind.
And he did it.
I mean, he's unbelievable whathe did.
The other thing he did and thisis obviously part of another
(15:14):
podcast in the future but wegrow the only agave in New
Zealand.
Oh wow, in greenhouses, like 28years ago.
Terry and his buddy are havinga drink and Terry decides I want
to do something that no one'sever going to do again and no
one would think of.
I'm going to make New Zealand'sonly agave, I mean, and we grow
(15:39):
in these greenhouses.
28 years later, we're finallyready to launch it's that's
incredible.
I mean, that's like forwardvision it's unbelievable like he
was so far ahead of his timenow.
Now, as you know how long ittakes to grow the product, you
know this is super exclusive.
We will probably do 452 bottlesthis year.
They are hand-sold.
We used to sell them at adistillery.
(16:00):
Now I'm bringing them to the US.
We're doing a full rebrand.
It'll be super exciting.
There's whole stories about it.
For those who make theimpossible possible and Terry
did that Terry lived that lifeand my belief is that that
product will become aconversation for others who've
lived a life of making theimpossible possible, and we've
got some very cool ideas aboutwrapping purpose into it,
because obviously that's part ofthe theme.
Now I went a little bit off, alittle bit about some of the
(16:23):
products and I hope I hit someof the points you wanted around
the distillery.
So, in terms of the gin itself,you know we've effectively
created what I call a gin forvodka lovers.
So when you say gin to manypeople, they get very scared.
So what we did is we make aphenomenal vodka.
(16:45):
It's called Juju.
It's all about good energy.
It's another great story.
We'll talk about that anothertime.
It's all about good energy.
It's another great story.
We'll talk about that anothertime.
But for our gin we created theworld's easiest sipping gin and
when you sip this gin it's adelicate flavor profile.
Yes, there's still juniper inthere.
But because we make a greatvodka, we can make a really good
(17:07):
gentle gin Because a lot ofgins they layer a lot of
complexity and botanicals on topof what is not a great vodka.
But we're happy to showcasethat vodka and through the gin
we have an expression of thatand so when we taste with people
I'll get I don't drink this.
And then they're like I don'tdrink gin, but I drink this and
(17:29):
that's what we want to do.
So we've tried.
You can say let's be aggressive,democratize gin.
So a gin for vodka lovers.
And you know we love it thatwe've been able to put purpose
around which allows us to getlots of people enjoying the
product.
So I encourage people try abottle and call me if I'm wrong.
(17:49):
I've said it probably 25,000times.
I've tested this product andpeople are like oh my God, this
is dangerous.
Now that I'm going to be a bitcareful about.
We want responsible drinking,but it is just very, very easy
to enjoy Negroni martini on therocks with lime.
I mean most people you say, putgin on the rocks with lime,
(18:10):
they'll be like.
You know, is this Jägermaster2.0?
It's not.
It's a very, very beautifullight spirit.
You know, I distill as SueBenserman worked for Terry for a
long time and she's a chef bytraining.
She's a phenomenal palette andshe created this beautiful light
gin stylistically Bombay,sapphire, tanqueray, if you
(18:32):
wanted, for sort of a quadrantto play in.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
It has its own uniqueness too.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
It definitely does.
You know it definitely does.
That's great.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
For people whom you've sold on, getting a taste
of this gin for vodka lovers, asyou say.
How can they do that and howcan they, in turn, support your
partnership with the NationalLaw Enforcement Memorial Fund?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
So first thing is obviously the awareness, and I'd
like to thank MHW for allowingme to be on the program today to
tell the National LawEnforcement Officers Memorial
Fund story and exactly what theydo.
The second thing is that youknow I speak to different people
.
So for bartenders, you know welike to say that they're at the
front line of the mission.
You know they pour with purposewhen they pour the Champions
(19:18):
Gin because it allows them totell the story, you know.
To the bar owners, you knowthey built their bars around
community and this product isall about community.
It's about thank you for peoplein your community.
And then the third group thatit's for which is probably the
most difficult bit.
It's for them.
It's those who have peoplewho've left.
This is some way that we cansay thank you to them for all
(19:40):
the support they did when theysaw their loved ones leave every
day.
So thank you to them.
And then, fourthly, to the restof us.
You know, by purchasing abottle bottle, you're donating
twenty dollars a bottle to thenational law enforcement
officers memorial fund.
That's unheard of in thisindustry and the reason we do
that is because of that's thatphrase.
Some gave a lot, others gave itall, we give it all, and so,
(20:03):
again, I think that's reallyimportant that we are out there
saying thank you, um, and Ithink through this, we people
can do that and, mostimportantly, tell the story,
because that's the platform,that's what we want to know.
We want people to know allabout what the National Law
Enforcement Officers MemorialFund does and, obviously, look
them up.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
We'll have a link in the show notes to the website so
that people can follow up andfind a way to have a taste and
to contribute.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
One of the other things that's really important
is, frankly, the on-premise andthe off-premise, and we want to
say a huge thank you to thembecause without them the Paint
the Bar Blue wouldn't behappening.
And so the support that we'vereceived and remember we're in
New York and we're Jersey goingto DC, so those are our big
(20:50):
states for Paint the Bar BlueNext year, hopefully the whole
country, but total wine in NewYork and New Jersey have been
amazing to us.
You know the wine guy has beenamazing, the bottle buys.
You know Arugas hosting anevent, vetro hosting events.
You know, in DC it's.
(21:16):
You know the Irish Channel,it's the Irish Times.
All of these organizations havejust been super supportive and
so that's made our job a wholelot easier and I truly
appreciate that support becausethat's what the partnership's
about.
I mean, if you said to me, pj,like while waking up in the
morning, it's those partnerships, because that's where the magic
is, you know where people getwhat you're doing, and they're
like I'm in, like I'll buy fivecases, like let's go.
(21:37):
So you know that's, that'spretty special.
So you know faith in humanity,in the worlds we live in these
days, that if people are like oh, no one cares.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
I'm telling you, people care, so you know again,
that to me has been a fantasticthing and obviously I really
want to thank him for that.
Let's move on to our finalquestion, our fun question that
we like to ask every guest thatwe have, and that is simply what
is your favorite adult beverage?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
So for me, I'm definitely a Pinot Noir drinker
and that's one of the reasonsI'm not in that business,
because between my wife and I wewould definitely have financial
problems if we were, you knowmanufacturers.
But if I stick in the spiritspace, a dark and stormy is my
happy place.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
That is just a great cocktail for me Sounds delicious
, and we're recording this on aFriday, so that might be the
plan later on, exactly.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
It might be a few of those.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
I have to follow up and ask.
So Dark and Stormy is arum-based drink.
To my knowledge, it doesn'tlook like Golden Bay has a rum.
What's your go-to that?
Maybe when you're demoing yourproducts?
What's your go-to cocktail forthat, your product?
What's your go-to cocktail?
Speaker 3 (22:52):
for that.
So one of the things that wereally well I personally enjoy
is, to be honest, is Champion'sGin Block of Ice and a touch of
lime.
That simple and that is mygo-to drink and obviously the
story obviously for me, mypersonal story is that my dad
was my champion and so heinspired me to be a champion to
(23:14):
other people, and so when Idrink my gin I connect with him.
But that's my personal story.
Everyone else has a story abouttheir champions and I think
that's the greatest story ofChampions Gin is that it gives
you a way to tell your story.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Well, I want to say thank you so much, PJ Anderson,
for joining us and having agreat discussion.
For folks who want to check outgoldenbaydistillerycom, there
will be a link in the show notes.
Pj, thanks for stopping by.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Absolutely no problem and thank you for a phenomenal
opportunity to tell a NationalLaw enforcement officer's
memorial fund story.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
And thank you listeners for joining us on the
MHW Mark podcast and thanksagain to Bridget McCabe for
joining me in hosting.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Thank you, nice to be here.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
This podcast is produced by me, Jimmy Moreland,
with booking and planningsupport by Cassidy Poe and
Bridget McCabe.
It's presented by MHW.
Find out more at mhwltdcom orconnect with MHW on LinkedIn.
Lend us a hand by subscribing,rating and reviewing this
(24:22):
podcast wherever you listen.
We'll be back in your feed nextweek.
We'll see you then, Cheers.
Welcome to the MHW Mark podcast, where we take deep
dives into various aspects ofthe alcohol industry.
My name is Jimmy Moreland.
Mhw is a US and EU beveragealcohol importer, distributor
and service provider Co-hostingwith me.
Today I am pleased to welcomeback MHW's Bridget McCabe.
How you been.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hi there, jimmy, I'm doing well.
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm very, very well.
We're having fun.
Today we're doing something alittle bit unusual in that we're
back after a one-week break.
Usually we do two weeks,sometimes longer.
Why are we coming back soquickly?
Can you tell us why?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
We have so much great content in the hopper for all
of the listeners.
We have so much great contentin the hopper for all of the
listeners.
Just so many wonderful MHWbrands that we're working with
that are really coming alivethis spring to activate in the
US.
There's a lot that is going onin terms of trade associations
and events coming up.
We want to make sure that youdon't miss a second of it.
Obviously, with what's going onin the larger economic
(01:06):
environment, with tariffs andthat kind of thing, marketing
and sales is even more importantright now.
So we want to give youlisteners a great edge on how
you can bring your brand forwardand connect with retailers and
consumers alike.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
And the brand that we're talking with today is
really interesting.
I think that folks will reallyenjoy the conversation and I say
it during the conversation thisfounder is so laser focused on
telling a story.
He just oozes authenticity,Like clearly this is something
that's really important to himon a personal level and it just
(01:38):
oozes through his brand and thestory.
And we've planned this out towhere this episode will actually
drop in the week leading up toNational Police Week.
And can you tell us why wemight have planned it that way,
Bridget?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
On purpose.
This is a brand with purposeand we have purpose when we're
dropping the podcast.
So, yeah, we're really excited.
Golden Bay Distillery, like Imentioned, is a brand with
purpose and they are activatingfor National Police Week, coming
up starting Sunday, may 11th,in several of MHW's markets.
So you know it's something that, with chatting with PJ about
(02:15):
some of the plans for the brand,that what we saw was really an
inspirational model.
He is donating 100% of proceedsfor one of his SKUs, champion
Gin, towards this.
So really excited to kind ofhear more about the National Law
Enforcement Memorial Fund, whatthe brand is doing, but then
(02:35):
also some advice for brands whoare thinking about incorporating
a charitable component into thefabric of their brand and their
story and how to find the mostauthentic and genuine way to do
that.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
It's a great conversation, so let's jump
right into it.
Our guest today is the CEO andco-founder of Golden Bay
Distillery.
Welcome to the show, PJAnderson.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Thank you very much.
I'm super happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
It's great to have you here.
It's great to have you herelocally, at least in the same
time zone.
Can you please tell us a littlebit about yourself, PJ, and why
I might have just made thatcomment?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Sure, no problem.
So very international, bornSouth African, lived in London,
afterwards went to Tokyo forfive years, new York for ten
years, hong Kong for five years,new York for 10 years, hong
Kong for 10 years, back to theUS now for the past sort of five
years, and now I'm based here.
(03:32):
But, as you know, I have adistillery in New Zealand, so we
do have a few things going on.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Well, let's get to that.
As much as I'd love to havesome Japan chat, because I lived
there for a few years, but wegot to stay on topic here.
Talk about the distillery, Tellus about the when, the where,
the why, how it came to be andhow you came to be on this
podcast chatting about it.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
So I'll start off with how we ended up getting
into the alcohol industry.
So my silly joke is I wanted todo something fun and
intoxicating after many years infinance, and clearly booze is
top of the business for both ofthose.
What I didn't quite get was thecash flow that we're still
working about, but the fun isthere and really, I'll be
(04:16):
perfectly honest, this is apurpose thing for us.
We've been super grateful withwhat experiences we've had, and
now it's a give back for us, soeverything we're doing is really
around that, and so we've beengiven a platform to do that, and
so that's how I ended up here.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
That's incredible.
Thanks for joining us, PJ, andI know you've been a longtime
MHW client many years.
Recently we chatted and you letme know that your brand has
established an officialpartnership with the National
Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.
Can you tell us a little bitabout this memorial fund?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
So the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Fund is based in DC.
They do three very importantthings.
The first thing is they managethe memorial where officers'
line of duty deaths are recorded.
The second thing they do isthey tell the American law
enforcement story.
And then the third thing isthey do is that they focus on
reducing in-line-of-duty deaths.
(05:08):
So three very important thingsthat that organization does.
And obviously they areintricately involved in Police
Week, which, if anybody has anopportunity to attend Police
Week, it is worth doing.
It is a most moving experience.
There's a vigil on the lawns infront of the Capitol.
(05:30):
There's not a dry eye in thewhole place.
If you get a chance, bring yourkids.
This is a place to come and geta real sense of what law
enforcement does for us.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Can you share about the product developed and
inspired by this Memorial Fundand Police Week, and can you
tell us more about thepartnership that you've
developed around this?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
So you know, we own a brand called Champions Gin, and
Champions Gin is all aboutchampions in the community, and
for us, there are few betterexamples than law enforcement
men and women of being champions.
They put themselves in the lineof danger for us, so they
champion everyday other people,and so the opportunity to be
able to tell the National LawEnforcement Officers Memorial
(06:15):
Fund is an honor for us, andwhat we did is we've created a
bottle which it's personalizablefor officers' names.
It has a blue light on it andso very, very symbolic, and the
whole idea behind that brand isaround the principle of some
gave a lot, others gave it all.
We give 100% of the money,which is over $20 a bottle, to
(06:37):
that important cause, and ourgoal is to sell as many of those
bottles as possible.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
That's so great to hear that, and I think a lot of
brands are looking to do oractivate similarly.
However, I think for that to bereally grounded in your ethos
of the distillery and not justsort of like a innovation skew
or something to kind of do onthe side the fact that it is
throughout your entire brandfabric is really, really
(07:05):
impressive, and we're so happyto have you on as clients.
I appreciate you.
There's one thing I wanted totouch on.
One thing I was reallyimpressed about when we chatted
was that you had put togethersome really smart programming
for activating in-market forNational Police Week starting
Sunday, May 11th.
Are you able to share with ussome of that strategy and how
that came about?
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Sure, sure, sure so as it comes to the activation of
it.
So what we've done is we'vecreated an activation which is
called Paint the Bar Blue and,as I mentioned, the whole ethos
of this is about being gratefulfor the champions in community.
And so our idea is that,through the product which we
(07:46):
donate, 100% of the money let mejust say 100% of the money goes
to the National Law EnforcementOffice Memorial Fund.
That's over $20 a bottle.
What we, through the paint thebar blue, is that the bar owner
and the bartenders are able totell the National Law
Enforcement story and in that wethen have the effect of
(08:10):
expressing gratitude to lawenforcement.
And the idea is pretty simpleit's three cocktails, all with a
blue tinge to them, all withChampions Gin in it, and,
because we have a big give onthe back end, all the bartenders
and all the bar owners have todo is serve the gin.
And we're doing activations.
We've got our first one atArugas on May 1st, and people
(08:33):
are going to show up to saythank you to law enforcement,
and what you'd like to say isyou're going to pour with a
purpose as a bartender andyou're going to sip with a
purpose as a community member.
So I think it works pretty well.
And obviously I want to go backto it's the platform of the
National Law EnforcementOfficers Memorial Fund that it's
all about.
It's their story.
(08:53):
I mean, what they do for us isthe first thing they do is they
run a memorial, and I think it'simportant that everyone knows
that there were 345 line of dutydeaths and those 345 names are
going on a wall and that'spretty serious, and so we're
able to help with that.
We're able to help tell thestory of law enforcement in
(09:13):
America.
And then the third thing isthey spend a lot of time
learning.
How do we take down the numberin the line of duty deaths?
So the National Law EnforcementOfficers Memorial Fund is doing
an amazing job and so we'resuper proud to be here to be
able to tell their story, andthat adds a little bit of
purpose to what we do, which youknow get some gray hairs like
me.
It's that time of your lifethat, uh, and especially, you
(09:37):
call the brand a champion.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
You know you better champion things and you better
be a champion you know, I lovethe fact, when you're talking
about this, that you're bringingit into the local communities
because I think the connectivityof it and you know even
bringing it to the on-prem,because I think the connectivity
of it and you know evenbringing it to the on-premise
level, in specific, likeneighborhoods, it's really
important to tie everyonetogether.
And you know, jimmy served inthe military and I have a lot of
connections in the fire force,so not the police force but FDNY
(10:02):
.
So you know, civil service iscertainly something that I think
involves all of the communitiesand I think it's really smart
to kind of give back in that way.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
And watch both those spaces in time just as a little
forward.
But my boys are both involunteer fire, so watch that
space.
And military, you know.
Again, these are all championsand we should recognize them.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And what would your top two to three pieces of
advice be that you give to otherbeverage alcoholic brands who
are seeking to activate acharitable component of their
brand?
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I think the first one is do as I say, don't do as I
do.
You know I'm still learninglots of lessons about building a
profitable business, butcertainly you know, obviously
we're big beliefs and purpose,you know, and at the end of the
day is obviously the path thatwe're down.
The important thing, when youthink about the purpose and the
partnership, is really threethings that I'd throw out to
(10:58):
incorporate.
The first thing is you've gotto be authentic.
This is not sticking a label onsomething.
It's about the integrity of thebrand and, as you highlighted
earlier, champion's Gin to itscause, cause about being a
champion and telling otherpeople's stories.
So it's really while we wake upin the morning.
So from that perspective it'seasy.
The second thing is that youreally need to think about
(11:21):
integrating that missioncompletely into the brand.
You know it's not justactivation.
Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, it'sactually about the label, it's
about the product, it's aboutthe story, it's completely
integrated.
And then the third thing we sayis that you've got to give the
platform to that purpose thatyou're serving.
So for us, it's all about theNational Law Enforcement
(11:42):
Officers Memorial Fund.
It's their voice, it's theirstory that we want to tell and
we want to use that storybecause that's where the magic
is.
Like, you know, this is not abottle of gin, this is a mission
in a bottle.
Like that's the cool thing andthat's what gives us the ability
, you know, and the energy torun at walls all day.
But again, there's a lot ofpeople who do a lot more
(12:02):
difficult things.
You know, one thing I'll sharewith you that always strikes me
when we think about the lawenforcement is that every day,
they leave the home not knowingif they're coming home.
Think about that.
I mean, it's pretty scary.
And again, ability to tell thatstory and have people
appreciate exactly what they do,say thank you, express some
gratitude that's hopefully whatthe Champions' Journey Heroes
(12:24):
Edition can help do.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
On this podcast.
We've been doing this fornearly two years now.
If there has been any throughline with every brand that we've
talked with, it has beenauthenticity and story are some
of the big keys to success andyou've done an excellent job of
just man.
If you have been coached onmessage, give that coach a raise
.
And if you haven't been coachedon message, well then we
(12:48):
perhaps need to hire you as anindependent consultant for some
of these brands, because, wow,just the focus and discipline on
that message is reallyimpressive and it's something
that I hope the brands out theredo take to heart.
Let's step aside from that.
Let's talk about the liquid andlet's talk about the physical
distillery.
You know I'm a geography nerdso I looked up physically where
(13:11):
Golden Bay Distillery is, thereon the north end of the South
Island of New Zealand.
Can you talk about thedistillery itself, the
production of the liquid, whatgoes into the bottle, the label?
Can you talk about that endsort of the nuts and bolts of it
?
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Absolutely.
Golden Bay Distillery ispositioned on the South Island
of New Zealand.
We're in the northwest corner,right in the middle of a
national park, and when I saywe're in a green part of New
Zealand, people aren't probablygoing to consider because
they're like all of NewZealand's green.
I'm talking a green part of NewZealand.
So we sit on the clearestspring water in the world,
(13:47):
certified by NIWA.
Now our distillery feeds anaquifer, obviously to get the
water, so that water has aviscosity and a flavor profile
that we think is super special.
So that's one of theinteresting things.
The second thing is that it'sall family owned.
You know ourselves and mypartner previous partner Terry
(14:09):
unfortunately Terry passed awaycreated a family distillery with
a family actively involved.
Terry's built a big distillery.
Terry was a man who saw afuture before others did, and
what I mean by that is that ourdistillery has enough room for
trucks to drive through it.
His father was a wealthy man,gave him the money and Terry
(14:31):
went all in, but obviously thatallows us, as we grow our story,
to be able to deliver product.
So I'm truly blessed for thevision that Terry set us on well
ahead of our time.
You know, terry was built in themiddle of the Aroa Lodge, in
(14:52):
the middle of the Abel Tasman.
So what does that mean?
He shipped over tons ofmaterials because the only way
to get to this place is tohelicopter in or hike in, and
Terry said I'm going to build alodge here.
People said, terry, you lostyour mind.
And he did it.
I mean, he's unbelievable whathe did.
The other thing he did and thisis obviously part of another
(15:14):
podcast in the future but wegrow the only agave in New
Zealand.
Oh wow, in greenhouses, like 28years ago.
Terry and his buddy are havinga drink and Terry decides I want
to do something that no one'sever going to do again and no
one would think of.
I'm going to make New Zealand'sonly agave, I mean, and we grow
(15:39):
in these greenhouses.
28 years later, we're finallyready to launch it's that's
incredible.
I mean, that's like forwardvision it's unbelievable like he
was so far ahead of his timenow.
Now, as you know how long ittakes to grow the product, you
know this is super exclusive.
We will probably do 452 bottlesthis year.
They are hand-sold.
We used to sell them at adistillery.
(16:00):
Now I'm bringing them to the US.
We're doing a full rebrand.
It'll be super exciting.
There's whole stories about it.
For those who make theimpossible possible and Terry
did that Terry lived that lifeand my belief is that that
product will become aconversation for others who've
lived a life of making theimpossible possible, and we've
got some very cool ideas aboutwrapping purpose into it,
because obviously that's part ofthe theme.
Now I went a little bit off, alittle bit about some of the
(16:23):
products and I hope I hit someof the points you wanted around
the distillery.
So, in terms of the gin itself,you know we've effectively
created what I call a gin forvodka lovers.
So when you say gin to manypeople, they get very scared.
So what we did is we make aphenomenal vodka.
(16:45):
It's called Juju.
It's all about good energy.
It's another great story.
We'll talk about that anothertime.
It's all about good energy.
It's another great story.
We'll talk about that anothertime.
But for our gin we created theworld's easiest sipping gin and
when you sip this gin it's adelicate flavor profile.
Yes, there's still juniper inthere.
But because we make a greatvodka, we can make a really good
(17:07):
gentle gin Because a lot ofgins they layer a lot of
complexity and botanicals on topof what is not a great vodka.
But we're happy to showcasethat vodka and through the gin
we have an expression of thatand so when we taste with people
I'll get I don't drink this.
And then they're like I don'tdrink gin, but I drink this and
(17:29):
that's what we want to do.
So we've tried.
You can say let's be aggressive,democratize gin.
So a gin for vodka lovers.
And you know we love it thatwe've been able to put purpose
around which allows us to getlots of people enjoying the
product.
So I encourage people try abottle and call me if I'm wrong.
(17:49):
I've said it probably 25,000times.
I've tested this product andpeople are like oh my God, this
is dangerous.
Now that I'm going to be a bitcareful about.
We want responsible drinking,but it is just very, very easy
to enjoy Negroni martini on therocks with lime.
I mean most people you say, putgin on the rocks with lime,
(18:10):
they'll be like.
You know, is this Jägermaster2.0?
It's not.
It's a very, very beautifullight spirit.
You know, I distill as SueBenserman worked for Terry for a
long time and she's a chef bytraining.
She's a phenomenal palette andshe created this beautiful light
gin stylistically Bombay,sapphire, tanqueray, if you
(18:32):
wanted, for sort of a quadrantto play in.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
It has its own uniqueness too.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
It definitely does.
You know it definitely does.
That's great.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
For people whom you've sold on, getting a taste
of this gin for vodka lovers, asyou say.
How can they do that and howcan they, in turn, support your
partnership with the NationalLaw Enforcement Memorial Fund?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
So first thing is obviously the awareness, and I'd
like to thank MHW for allowingme to be on the program today to
tell the National LawEnforcement Officers Memorial
Fund story and exactly what theydo.
The second thing is that youknow I speak to different people
.
So for bartenders, you know welike to say that they're at the
front line of the mission.
You know they pour with purposewhen they pour the Champions
(19:18):
Gin because it allows them totell the story, you know.
To the bar owners, you knowthey built their bars around
community and this product isall about community.
It's about thank you for peoplein your community.
And then the third group thatit's for which is probably the
most difficult bit.
It's for them.
It's those who have peoplewho've left.
This is some way that we cansay thank you to them for all
(19:40):
the support they did when theysaw their loved ones leave every
day.
So thank you to them.
And then, fourthly, to the restof us.
You know, by purchasing abottle bottle, you're donating
twenty dollars a bottle to thenational law enforcement
officers memorial fund.
That's unheard of in thisindustry and the reason we do
that is because of that's thatphrase.
Some gave a lot, others gave itall, we give it all, and so,
(20:03):
again, I think that's reallyimportant that we are out there
saying thank you, um, and Ithink through this, we people
can do that and, mostimportantly, tell the story,
because that's the platform,that's what we want to know.
We want people to know allabout what the National Law
Enforcement Officers MemorialFund does and, obviously, look
them up.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
We'll have a link in the show notes to the website so
that people can follow up andfind a way to have a taste and
to contribute.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
One of the other things that's really important
is, frankly, the on-premise andthe off-premise, and we want to
say a huge thank you to thembecause without them the Paint
the Bar Blue wouldn't behappening.
And so the support that we'vereceived and remember we're in
New York and we're Jersey goingto DC, so those are our big
(20:50):
states for Paint the Bar BlueNext year, hopefully the whole
country, but total wine in NewYork and New Jersey have been
amazing to us.
You know the wine guy has beenamazing, the bottle buys.
You know Arugas hosting anevent, vetro hosting events.
You know, in DC it's.
(21:16):
You know the Irish Channel,it's the Irish Times.
All of these organizations havejust been super supportive and
so that's made our job a wholelot easier and I truly
appreciate that support becausethat's what the partnership's
about.
I mean, if you said to me, pj,like while waking up in the
morning, it's those partnerships, because that's where the magic
is, you know where people getwhat you're doing, and they're
like I'm in, like I'll buy fivecases, like let's go.
(21:37):
So you know that's, that'spretty special.
So you know faith in humanity,in the worlds we live in these
days, that if people are like oh, no one cares.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
I'm telling you, people care, so you know again,
that to me has been a fantasticthing and obviously I really
want to thank him for that.
Let's move on to our finalquestion, our fun question that
we like to ask every guest thatwe have, and that is simply what
is your favorite adult beverage?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
So for me, I'm definitely a Pinot Noir drinker
and that's one of the reasonsI'm not in that business,
because between my wife and I wewould definitely have financial
problems if we were, you knowmanufacturers.
But if I stick in the spiritspace, a dark and stormy is my
happy place.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
That is just a great cocktail for me Sounds delicious
, and we're recording this on aFriday, so that might be the
plan later on, exactly.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
It might be a few of those.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
I have to follow up and ask.
So Dark and Stormy is arum-based drink.
To my knowledge, it doesn'tlook like Golden Bay has a rum.
What's your go-to that?
Maybe when you're demoing yourproducts?
What's your go-to cocktail forthat, your product?
What's your go-to cocktail?
Speaker 3 (22:52):
for that.
So one of the things that wereally well I personally enjoy
is, to be honest, is Champion'sGin Block of Ice and a touch of
lime.
That simple and that is mygo-to drink and obviously the
story obviously for me, mypersonal story is that my dad
was my champion and so heinspired me to be a champion to
(23:14):
other people, and so when Idrink my gin I connect with him.
But that's my personal story.
Everyone else has a story abouttheir champions and I think
that's the greatest story ofChampions Gin is that it gives
you a way to tell your story.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Well, I want to say thank you so much, PJ Anderson,
for joining us and having agreat discussion.
For folks who want to check outgoldenbaydistillerycom, there
will be a link in the show notes.
Pj, thanks for stopping by.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Absolutely no problem and thank you for a phenomenal
opportunity to tell a NationalLaw enforcement officer's
memorial fund story.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
And thank you listeners for joining us on the
MHW Mark podcast and thanksagain to Bridget McCabe for
joining me in hosting.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Thank you, nice to be here.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
This podcast is produced by me, Jimmy Moreland,
with booking and planningsupport by Cassidy Poe and
Bridget McCabe.
It's presented by MHW.
Find out more at mhwltdcom orconnect with MHW on LinkedIn.
Lend us a hand by subscribing,rating and reviewing this
(24:22):
podcast wherever you listen.
We'll be back in your feed nextweek.
We'll see you then, Cheers.
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