Chris Bax, co-founder of Bax Botanics, tells us how this ‘professional tree-hugger’ husband & wife team launched an outdoor experiential business, and then their award-winning alcohol-free gin-like drink. You get to meet Ebenezer, Edith and Hefzibah and hear how Chris feels that getting liquid on lips is the toughest part of the business, along with a great piece of advice in the ‘How to’. You’ll have to listen up to find out who the Hollywood A list actor was that Chris failed to recognise when he came along for a visit. INTRODUCING CHRIS BAX Chris Bax has spent decades learning about and experimenting with botanical flavours. His interest in and knowledge of wild edibles has seen him appear on TV shows like Countryfile and The Hairy Bikers. He has over 20 years experience of teaching and consulting to the food industry, focussing on delicious and exciting ways to use wild ingredients and culinary herbs. Chris and his wife Rose are now using all their skills and experience to distil a secret recipe of herbs, roots, berries and flowers to create alcohol-free spirits with layers of beautifully complex flavours. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:20] What is Bax Botanics? [00:02:00] Chris Bax’s background [00:06:00] Fate… [00:13:00] What is ‘Taste the Wild’? [00:17:45] A Hollywood actor came to visit [00:21:00] Introducing Bax Botatics [00:26:30] The difficulty in selling the product [00:32:00] How to export your product KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Why should we give alcohol ownership of celebration • The biggest hurdle when selling a drink is route-to-market • Don’t be afraid to export BEST MOMENTS “I went to do a bit of retail therapy in an outdoor shop…. And met my wife” “As we’re a couple of tree-huggers we bought 18 acres of woodland” “Someone from the Guardian came on our first course and the week after we had two pages in the weekend supplement” “I didn’t recognise the highest paid actor in Hollywood at the time” “We’ve created a drink which gives you the feeling of luxury even though you’re not drinking acohol” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Relevant links from the show, recommended Leeds business Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: www.tastethewild.co.uk www.baxbotanics.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-bax-6419b255/ Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/tastethewild https://www.instagram.com/baxbotanics Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either • Apple Podcasts App (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or • Podchaser (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/leeds-business-podcast-5389157) or • a 5 star review at Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/66AeIYry1gWfmBYMDlfmrT) or • give this episode a ’thumbs up’ on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast) SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leedsbusinesspodcast/ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/2023-highlight-part-one/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/2023-highlights-part-2/...