OldTreeBreweryxZedify

Old Tree Brewery is a Brighton based drinks company with a difference. The brand takes its inspiration from the ancient practices of fermentation and forest culture, striving to find new ways to produce delicious botanical concoctions that are good for both people and planet.

A chance encounter

Old Tree’s founders, Tom and Nick, came up with the idea after forging their friendship on a train journey – and bonding over a wish to do things differently. As the team grew, the range of botanicals did too, and now the company produces everything from kombucha to drinking vinegars (and our personal favourite, elderflower sparkling wine).

So, we were delighted to meet with Tai, the MD at the company, to find out more about the ethos of the business and why they chose cargo bike deliveries with Zedify.

Local and low-carbon

Tai told us Old Tree Brewery had set out with the intention to minimise their environmental impact as much as possible, and that Zedify’s USP as a locally-based, low-carbon service really caught their attention.

“Our initial thoughts and feelings about Zedify were that everyone was really accommodating from the get go. There’s always been an element of flexibility which is great for a small business. If we need to add on deliveries last minute, we can. Another plus point is the reusable crates that are utilised for taking items to and from clients, meaning that there’s no need to use cardboard boxes, helping us out again on the sustainability side.”

Cash is king

Tai stressed that a big plus point is the “reasonable cost” of the Zedify service. For small businesses, cash is king. As the company sells live products, the brand needs to keep the delivery chain as short as possible and chilled transport can be very expensive. Zedify’s capability to do same day services was a huge deciding factor when picking a courier.

Equally, Tai mentioned the importance of finding the right courier to handle the fragility of their items (most of OTB’s goods are glass bottles full of liquids). The reusable bottle crates protect the bottles and ensure none are broken in transit. It’s hard to avoid some of the negative press coverage around poor service from some of the biggest delivery companies out there. Tai reassured us he’s never had to worry about delicate items arriving in one piece with Zedify, though.

‘Environmental impact – or lack of!’

Prior to using Zedify, the team were facilitating all of their deliveries themselves and found that the time taken to do so was eating into their costs. For the next stage of their growth, they needed a reliable external carrier.

We asked Tai what he reckons is the top benefit of working with a cargo delivery bike company instead of a traditional van delivery business. Tai says,

“Environmental impact… well, lack of! And – speed.”

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Check out Old Tree Brewery’s socials here.

Shop their delicious foraged botanicals here.