The UK spirits industry is in rude health.

According to national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young, 54 new distilleries opened in 2023.

England in particular has emerged as a hotbed for new independent spirits businesses, with 48 new distilleries registered last year – a 20% uptick from 40 registrations in 2022.

And Scotland, renowned for its whisky heritage, has also experienced a resurgence in distillery launches, with three new distilleries registered in 2023 and eight registrations in 2022.

But it’s not just new and exciting distilleries opening in the spirits world, either. We’re seeing new businesses that are aiming to improve the spirits sector for producers and consumers alike.

Last month, one such company – Proofworks –  launched a proprietary SaaS solution to digitalise the entire spirits supply chain, from production, maturation and bottling, to customer engagement and digital ownership.

It’s a key time for the spirits industry, with visibility of channel inventory becoming critical with category growth changes, and increasing costs and supply chain disruption driving the need for greater efficiency.

There is also changing consumer behaviours with an increased desire to connect in new, authentic and more meaningful ways.

According to the business, Proofworks is enabling the connectivity of distilleries and warehouses through technologies such as NFC, RFID, QR codes and smart sensors. All this data is stored securely on blockchain and made accessible via the Proofworks platform.

As well as this powerful data being used to inform and optimise production, meet emerging compliance requirements and achieve sustainability goals, it is also empowering the end consumer experience.

And with successful live deployments already in Scottish, Irish and American distilleries and warehouses, it was the perfect time to catch up with Proofworks’ CEO, Rob Hollands to learn more about the business, his background the importantly, the plans for the future.