April 2023

Kilderkin Distillery is an award-winning craft spirits producer based in Ballarat Victoria founded in 2016. As of 2023, they produce over ten unique products plus running a distillery door. It is historically fitting that they set up their stills in Ballarat given the first legal distillery in the colony of Victoria was in Ballarat. They welcome visitors to their distillery door four days a week as well as host many unique experiences in collaboration with other regional businesses.

Rebecca and Chris, the owners of Kilderkin Distillery are highly engaged with their business community and passionate about growing the burgeoning modern distilling industry in Australia.

Chris and Rebecca and their team had an ambitious strategic plan crafted before joining the Ready for Growth program in May 2022. The overarching goals were to expand the distribution of product sales and establish the distillery door experience to support long term sales growth

Even before the impact of Covid, the burgeoning local distilling industry struggled to find experienced talent. This was one of the key challenges the team had to overcome to execute their growth plans. During the time in the program, the staffing needs were mostly met but as the demand for product grows so will the staffing targets.

Like so many young and ambitious businesses making the most of every day as well as ever dollar is key. Chris and Rebecca found working with their growth facilitator helpful to talk through what they were doing as business owners with a very clear strategic plan.

Even though none of the funding opportunities put forward were a fit at that time, Rebecca and Chris are keeping an eye on a number of grants that might be a good fit in the future.

Chris commented that “Working our facilitator helped challenge us in a positive, productive way as we were executing our strategic plan. Explaining and talking through what you are doing at each step has benefits that are often overlooked.”

Ready for Growth assists Victorian businesses to grown and succeed. Visit https://business.vic.gov.au/grants-and-programs/ready-for-growth to find out more.

WEBSITE https://www.kilderkindistillery.com/