Dusk Distillery Business Plan: Expansion, Investment & Projections

This case study presents a business plan developed for Dusk Distillery, a craft distillery producing rum and gin. The plan addresses the distillery's current operations, including rum production and wholesale distribution, and outlines strategies for introducing a new gin product, expanding production capacity, and developing a cellar door tourism experience. Key elements of the plan include securing $6 million in investment, installing larger-scale distilling systems, and opening a restaurant, bar, and gift shop. The plan incorporates financial projections, marketing strategies, and operational considerations, aiming for a turnover of $2.5 million in the next financial year. A SWOT analysis identifies the distillery's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, while a competitor analysis examines other distilleries with cellar door tours. The business plan is designed to guide the distillery's growth and attract investors by providing a comprehensive overview of its vision, mission, and financial requirements. This document is available on Desklib, where students can find other solved assignments and resources.

- Task 1
Case Study
Ink Gin - a flavoured/infused gin - has curious colour-changing properties. The
distiller - Paul - has firmly believed that it will be a hit from the get-go. He first
came across the pH-sensitive butterfly pea flower in 2011, and began what has now
been years of research and trials to perfect the product. All the while, he had
another product - an agricole-style rum - maturing in barrels and already on the
market. The rum is made from sugar cane from Paul's family farm as well as
surrounding farms near his distillery. The distillery is currently in an old run-down
shed on the farm. The rum has been on the market for a few years and growing in
popularity. Once the gin is ready, soon, Paul will have two excellent products.
Paul's vision for his distillery is to produce of top quality spirits produced organically
from as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. His mission is to provide
consumers with home style recipes that recreate an authentic experience. The
trading hours are Mon-Fri 9-5 for the wholesale liquor production, bottling and
shipping.
Paul really believes in these products and wants help growing the business. He
needs financial backing to do so. The rum is wholesaled to resellers in South East
Queensland and Nthn NSW. Paul is excited by the reception to his quality rum and
he feels positive about the new gin. Now to take the business to the next level!
Not only does he want to introduce this new product, but he wants larger scale
distillery equipment so as to increase production and to stimulate higher demand.
Furthermore, he believes that with a cellar upgrade he could welcome visitors to
the farm and distillery from Tuesdays to Sundays - midday to 5pm.
To help realise these goals, Paul has hired you as a full-time business manager. He
has big plans and needs expert help. As a start, you help him prepare a business
plan which will act not only as an internal guide but will also carefully document
the financial side of the business. To secure the backing of a third party like a
bank, investors, or partners, a well-constructed business plan is essential.
Investors need not only financial information but a "whole package" look at the idea
as well.
You set up your first business meeting with Paul and start by clarifying his mission
and vision for the business as well as short and long term goals. You want
to identify and assess business requirements, objectives, competitors and
Paul's established plans. He tells you that his first short term goal is to
introduce the gin to the market and then to increase production of both the rum
and of the gin. Higher productivity will lead to more products on more shelves and
increased revenue.
After that, and since the products are so unique and the cane farm is in a very
picturesque area, he wants the old shed where the distillery is currently located to
be replaced and to build a restaurant, bar and gift shop so as to welcome visitors.
This dream can be realized if Paul can attract $6M investment dollars in the
meantime.
The timeline for his plan is as follows.
CURENT SITUATION

It's now April so the January February and March figures are in for the rum sales.
They're on track. So far Paul has been able to grow sales by 15% per quarter.
PHASE 1
(April-June)
It's now April and the gin is bottled and ready. There are 30,000 litres of each spirit
in stock - enough for the next 15 months of trading. Now to introduce the gin to
the market. The current rum wholesalers will stock the gin so gin sales are
projected to start at $50,000 for the months of April, May and June and to steadily
increase by 15% per quarter - in line with the rum sales' growth. From this month
on, a business manager is hired at $10,000 per month.
Part of the Phase 1 goal is to gain financial backing so as to purchase and use
bigger distilling systems from July onwards.
PHASE 2 (July) With funding, install a larger scale distillery systems ($350K) and
hire a production assistant who will cost $4000 per month. With the larger scale
distilling systems, the business will be able to increase its production into the
following years, meeting demand as the business grows. In this phase too, the plan
is to build facilities for visitors.
PHASE 3 (October) Open a restaurant, a bar and gift shop. Paul wants to open
the Cellar Doors to the public on October 1st. This will increase retail sales as well
as grow the brand and increase the profit margin. A 1 litre bottle of either spirit
costs $25 to produce and bottle. The wholesale price is $50. This translates to
marking up the wholesale price by 100%. The retail price is almost double the
wholesale - $99. Staff wages for running this side of the business are estimated
thus:- The chef will cost $6000 per month. The total for 4 hospitality staff per
month is estimated at $10,000.
To summarise Paul's goals in productivity and performance terms, the business
is on track to turn over . He believes that wholesale sales revenue $750,000 in rum
sales during the current financial yearcan comfortably be doubled with the
introduction of the gin.
Furthermore, opening the cellar doors to the public, growing the brand, conducting
retail sales from both the distillery and online offer a whole new realm of
possibilities for growing this business. Paul is aiming for a turnover of at least
$2.5M in the next financial year and, once larger distilling systems are in place, he
expects continued growth thereafter.
He has set aside $20,000 to launch the new gin and the same amount for launching
the opening of the cellar doors to the public. He consulted a marketing expert at
one time who suggested that he budget for $2000 per month for ongoing
promotions and advertising for the business from April to the end of the coming
financial year - 15 months.
You make further enquiries about the business.
Its ABN is 012345678.
You recommend that the business register as a Pty Ltd Company. In this way
investor(s) can be a shareholder or even a director. Company registration will also
have some tax and legal benefits as well.
Paul takes your advice and the business's ACN is 987654321.

It is registered for GST (Goods and Services Tax)
It has a registered domain name. www.ginrummy.com
The business is located on a cane farm near the banks of the Tweed River in
Northern NSW.
It has the appropriate licences for producing and selling alcohol.
You enquire about the staff running the business at the moment. You find out the
Paul and his father have covered all areas until now and that in the near future,
Paul's father wishes to retire. You both agree that once you have secured the
financial backing, the business will need more skilled staff. For example, a full-time
marketing manager/brand expert, a supply chain/warehouse manager, an
accounts/admin manager, a production assistant. For Phase 3, when the business
opens up to visitors, a chef, a tour guide as well as restaurant and bar staff will be
needed.
For the purposes of conducting a SWOT analysis, you ask Paul about the
business's
 strengths – what do they do well?
 weaknesses – what could be improved?
 opportunities – what trends could be taken advantage of?
 threats – what the competition does, is the business exposed to any
threats?
He responds by saying that the business has two unique, high quality products.
Also that he has established a few boutique resellers in SE Qld and Nthn NSW who
love the product.
Improvements are needed in the administration and manufacturing areas. The
business is constrained by production quantities at the moment. If it could step up
its production with larger scale distilling systems, it could reach out to big national
wholesalers such as Dan Murphy's, BWS and the like.
As far as opportunities go, he thinks that, with financial backing and a revamped
distillery, that the distillery could become a tourist destination as well. He believes
too that there's a resurgence of interest in both rum and gin. You will research this
to gather some statistics about people's resurgent interest in these two spirits
- Google Trends (Links to an external site.)
There are other gin and rum makers in Australia who make quality products which
are more freely available and which are cheaper. There are other local distillers too
who welcome people on cellar tours.
Having conducted the SWOT analysis, you then hone in
on operational and technical requirements. Paul responds by again saying that
the business needs higher capacity distillery equipment.
You ask Paul about
 Strategic plan - he says that up till now, that's been in his head.
 Operational plan - this will need some work.
 Organisational structure - he has enough money to put the manpower
in place to step things up.

You tell Paul that in preparing a business plan for the Distillery, you need to do
some competitor analysis. You ask him to nominate two competitors and he
says Lord Byron Distillery (Links to an external site.)which has cellar door tours and
also produces gin and rum. The other is and Cape Byron Distillery (Links to an
external site.)which also does tours and produces gin. He's glad you will do a
competitor analysis. He wants to ensure that Husk's Distillery tours are at least
equal to his competitors.
You ask about quality control. Paul responds that as the distiller, he is the quality
controller. He explains that he ensures the quality of his rum by its taste. He says,
you "take a small sip and swoosh it around in your mouth. Is alcohol the first thing
you taste? If so that sharp burn is often indicative of lesser quality. His rum
delivers a complexity immediately: it's sweet, smoky, and super smooth." We
have rules and regulations for aging, final proof. As for the gin, he tells you
that great gins are all about the juniper (main ingredient) being up front – they
need to reflect the place they’re from. He uses unique native ingredients to
produce a distinctive tasting and coloured gin. He's very sure of his products'
quality and that both rum and gin drinkers are going to love it.
INSTRUCTIONS Part (A) Business plan templete
Drawing on what you know of the business from the Case Study (ABOVE)
Dusk Distillery, you now establish a Business Plan for this business.
Please note that a business plan includes financial requirements for the
business. Financial projections are an important part of preparing a business
plan. In the next assignment you are complete The Finances (THE FINANCES
SPREADSHEET IS ATTACHED) spreadsheet to accompany your business
plan.
Recall the development phases that the business owner has envisioned:
Usual operations -rum Introduce gin to market Use large scale distillers open cellars to the public
Your tasks are to complete the Business Plan Template (BELOW)
You may find this Start-up & Capital Costs table below helpful in determining
some of the expenses you are to describe.
START-UP COSTS COST ($) EQUIPMENT/CAPITAL
COSTS
COST ($)
Registrations Resturant, bar and $1,200,000

facilities
Business name $200 Outdoor dining area $780,000
Licences & Permits $3,947 Driveway and
parking area
$68,000
Domain names $100 Start-up capital $500,000
Trademarks/designs/patent $2,000 Plant &equipment $1,450,000
Vehicle registration $3,000 Distillery systems $1,450,000
More… Distillery sheds $1,950,000
Membership fees $500 Bottling equipment $35,000
Accountant fees $4,000 Warehouse fit out $385,000
Solicitor fees $5,500 Vehicles – forklift $11,500
Utilities (Electricity, gas,
water)
$3,700 Safety equipment $1,900
Internet/phone connection $250 Security system $1,890
Computer software $200
Training $2,000
Wages for the next 3
months (Apr, May, June)
$45,000 Office equipment
Stock/raw materials $15,000 Furniture $3,500
Insurance (for next 18
mths)
Reception fit out $3,200
Building & contents $4,500 Computer equipment $2,000
Vehicle $1,500 Computer software $1,500
Public Liability $5,000
Product liability $70,000
Workers’ compensation $7,000
Business assets $40,000
Label printing $1,980
Stationery & office supplies $280
Marketing & advertising $76,000
Total start-up costs $291,657 Total equipment
/capital costs
$6,393,490
Using this template
Before you complete this business plan template and start using it,
consider the following:
Do your research. You will need to make quite a few decisions about your
business including structure, marketing strategies and finances before you
can complete the template. By having the right information to hand you also
can be more accurate in your forecasts and analysis.
Determine who the plan is for. Does it have more than one purpose?
Will it be used internally or will third parties be involved? Deciding the
purpose of the plan can help you target your answers. If third parties are
involved, what are they interested in? Although don’t assume they are just
interested in the finance part of your business. They will be looking for the whole
package.
1. Do not attempt to fill in the template from start to finish. First
decide which sections are relevant for your business and set aside the
sections that don’t apply. You can always go back to the other sections

later.
Use the [italicised text]. The italicised text is there to help guide you by
providing some more detailed questions you may like to answer when preparing
your response. Please note: If a question does not apply to your circumstances it
can be ignored.
Get some help. If you aren’t confident in completing the plan yourself, you can
enlist the help of a professional (i.e. Single Business Service, Business Enterprise
Centre, business adviser, or accountant) to look through your plan and provide
you with advice.
Actual vs. expected figures. Existing businesses can include actual figures in
the plan, but if your business is just starting out and you are using expected
figures for turnover and finances you will need to clearly show that these are
expected figures or estimates.
Write your summary last. Use as few words as possible. You want to get
to the point but not overlook important facts. This is also your opportunity
to sell yourself. But don’t overdo it. You want prospective banks, investors,
partners or wholesalers to be able to quickly read your plan, find it realistic
and be motivated by what they read.
Review. Review. Review. Your business plan is there to make a good
impression. Errors will only detract from your professional image. So ask a
number of impartial people to proofread your final plan.
How to complete this template, please download the business.gov.au Business
Plan guide from www.business.gov.au/business plan.
[Your Name]
[Your Title]
[Business Name]
Contents
Table of Contents
- Task 1...................................................................................................................... 1
INSTRUCTIONS Part (A) Business plan templete........................................................4
Using this template.................................................................................................... 6
Business Plan Summary............................................................................................. 7
The Future............................................................................................................ 7
Vision statement:............................................................................................. 7
Mission statement:.......................................................................................... 7
Goals/objectives:.............................................................................................. 7
Business.................................................................................................................... 7

Business details...................................................................................................... 8
Registration details................................................................................................. 8
Business premises.................................................................................................. 8
Organization chart.................................................................................................. 9
Management & ownership...................................................................................... 9
Key personnel....................................................................................................... 10
Required staff.................................................................................................... 10
Recruitment options......................................................................................... 11
Training programs............................................................................................ 11
Products/services.................................................................................................. 11
Insurance............................................................................................................ 13
Risk management................................................................................................. 13
Legal considerations............................................................................................. 14
Operations............................................................................................................ 14
Production process............................................................................................ 14
Suppliers............................................................................................................... 15
Plant & equipment............................................................................................. 15
Inventory............................................................................................................ 15
The Market............................................................................................................... 17
Market research.................................................................................................... 17
Market targets...................................................................................................... 18
Your customers..................................................................................................... 18
Customer demographics................................................................................... 18
Key customers................................................................................................... 18
Customer management.....................................................................................18
Your competitors.................................................................................................. 19
Competitor details............................................................................................. 19
Advertising & sales............................................................................................... 20
Advertising & promotional strategy...................................................................20
Sales & distribution channels............................................................................20
Action plan........................................................................................................... 21
The Finances............................................................................................................ 21
Key objectives & financial review.........................................................................22
Financial objectives........................................................................................... 22
Expected cash flow............................................................................................... 23
INSTRUCTIONS PART (B) Complete spreadsheet (attached in the email)................23
INSTRUCTION Part –C (Performance review template)............................................24
REFERENCES............................................................................................................ 26
Business Plan Summary
[Please complete this page last]
[Your business summary should be no longer than a page and should focus
on why your business is going to be successful. Your answers below should
briefly summarise your more detailed answers provided throughout the body of this
plan.]
Business plan is concerned with having the significant information about the practices
that will be conducted by organization for launching new product market. It has given
emphasis on launching Gin as new product in market that is helpful in meeting the

requirements of business such as higher profitability & market share. The current
study has involved registration and other business details. There is involvement of
SWOT, competitors analysis which is helpful in offering details. Communication,
advertising, etc strategy ah been involved in report.
The Future
Vision statement:
To produce to quality spirits by involving h local sourced ingredients so that higher
market care can be covered.
Mission statement:
The mission is to offer quality products with home style recipes that formulates an
authentic experience in order to incline its competitive edge by increasing demands for the
products in market.
Goals/objectives:
Short term goal
To introduce the gin in market
To increase the manufacturing of rum and gin so that higher revenue can be derived.
To generate $750,000 sales in rum during the current financial period and by 15% per
quarter.
Long term goal
To build restaurant, bar and gift shop
To get the turnover of $2.5M in the next financial year from both the distillery and online
Raising $6M investment dollars in the particular duration
Business
Business details
Products/services: Manufacturing & selling of Rum and gin (Alcohol with license).
These products have good level of demand in market
Registration details
Business name: Pty Ltd Company
Trading name(s): Pty Ltd Company
Location(s) registered: a cane farm near the banks of the Tweed River in Northern
NSW
Business structure: Ltd Company

ABN: 012345678.
ACN: 987654321.
GST: Yes registeerd
Domain names: www.ginrummy.com
Licences & permits: Licenses for manufacturing and selling alcohol
Business premises
Business location:
businesses is located a cane farm near the banks of Tweed River in Northern NSW and
few boutique resellers in SE Qld and Northern NSW. The main area is Northern NSW and
the business is manufacturing and retailing products and have connects with wholesalers
Buy/lease: it has bought the business premises and the company is looking to build the
restaurant bar and gift shop
Organization chart
The type of organization structure helpful in meeting the customer demand and
complying with industrial regulations so that higher flexible and efficient products with
maintaining quality.

Management & ownership
Names of owners: Paul & his father and other share holders who are owners in the
organization. The main rights are possessed by Paul now as the father is willing to retire.
The management will comprise marketing manager, supply chain & warehouse manager,
production assistant, etc all are the responsibility for the particular department activity by
ensuring that effective functioning through maintaining accountability can become
possible
Details of management & ownership: Paul will give emphasis on running the
business by taking the crucial actions through delegating responsibilities in the
specified formulated organizational structure so that higher quality products can be
offered to customers. her you have a partnership agreement/contract in place?]
Experience: Paul has the good level of experience in offering the quality products through
giving emphasis on efficient liquor producing. , bottling and shipping which is
permitting to earn greater market share .
Key personnel
Required staff
[List your required staff in the table below.]
Job Title Quantity Skills necessary
Administration
management
manager
2 These should have 2 years of experience with
possessing the qualities like higher communication
fluency, ability to handle technical requirements of
firm and setting coordination among all
departments.
Operational
manager
5 All the operational manager should involve crucial
attributes like technical proficiency, product
development, risk analysis, strategic planning,
budget & staff management and effective decision-
making (Ferreras-Garcia, Hernández-Lara and
Serradell-López, 2019).. These can permit giving
emphasis by gaining 3+ years candidates yo meet
organizational requirements.
Deign manager 3 With availability of 1 and more year experience in
formulating product design so convenient so that
customers can get attracted with gaining ability to
use efficiently. skills includes team work,
relationship building and influencing and meeting
standard performance.
Procurement and
logistic manager
(Supply chain )
5 The main purpose is to build good network
channel in market so that offering higher revenue
can be generated. 5 and more years of experience
is required with leadership, analytical, time

management and organizational
Legal account 2 Handling all industrial complications so irrelevant
rise of legal obligation can be avoided. These staff
require to have at least experience of 5 years by
having knowledge of all standards of alcohol sector.
The set of requirements are logical & analytical
rationale, extensive legal research & coherent
client service offering ability.
Marketing
manager and
executives
10 Main staff who is responsible for communicating
with customers so needs to have leadership,
technical, organizational, communication k,
creative, analytical, influencing, decision-making,
etc. these can aid in meeting periodic targets such
as sales conversion rate, etc.
Financial
manager
2 Company have limited amount of funds so financial
managers play crucial role in affecting the growth &
development of all departments. These managers
should comprise problem solving approach,
mathematical & interpersonal skill, meeting
standard area, etc with possessing experience of at
least 3 years.
Selling and
distribution
manager
5 Manger need to comply with requirements like
effective leadership, conductive sales conversion
rate, relationship building, problem solving, after
sales service, with at least knowledge of 1 year
working in specified sector.
Quality control
manager
4 Planning & forecasting, finding lacking areas,
familiar with statistical & numerical analysis,
taking suitable improvement actions, etc. with
possession 2 years of knowledge in same field.
Recruitment options
For gaining the accurate type of the staff as per the organization requirement the
much emphasis will be provided on using both traditional and digital form of adverting. In
the tradition method the advertisement will be published in news paper so that local
talented people can be attracted. For maintaining the diverse working culture the
organization pay attention on publishing information on social media and with job
providing agency. The particular requirement options will help the specified firm to get the
accurate insights to have corrective performance so good pool of candidate can be
attracted. This can provide assistance in receiving perfect kind of employees in firm to
achieve higher quality outcomes. For this purpose of accomplishing organization
requirement the processes of recruitment will be followed such as information regarding
needs of hiring, preparing job description, talent search, screening & short listing,
interviewing, evaluating & offering of employment and conducting induction of new
employee.
Training programs
For meeting the requirements such as mentioned skills, the company is highly
emphasizing on having appropriate recruitment activities so that experienced employees
can obtained. The main purpose behind this is to achieve higher expertise possessing staff
so that no other cost incurring is required. In order to meet the lacking areas, internal
training & development procedure to attain required skills that are needed to perform
effectively in specified department to gain desire level of productivity. The manger will take
the training procedure into the consideration so that less cost with maximum level of output
can be derived. This is helpful in coordinating with the changing requirement of industry
through m optimizing resource sin turn higher performance can be derived.

Products/services
Product/Service Description Price
Rum It is the liquor made via fermenting then
distilling sugarcane m juice. The product is
possessing organic feature which is helpful
in meeting the ability to create greater
demand accomplishing ability.
$53.93
Gin The gin is juniper flavored spirit made by
simply adding natural flavoring to neutral
spirit. This is helpful in meeting the objective
of offering organic products in market to gain
attention of greater customers.
$59.99