SUSTAINABILITY
Here at Hummingbird Drinks, sustainability is something we take very seriously and strive to do better. As a business that likes to focus on sharing, giving and having a good time, we want to ensure that we can do anything possible to create a more sustainable world to live in. Whether that’s working with business to help create a smaller carbon footprint and less glass/plastic waste or teaming up with leading companies to help give back to the earth. We’re a firm believer that the only ice that should be melting is the ice in your drink!
Supporting local and independent business is something we love to do at Hummingbird. Alongside initiatives with Grounded we can proudly say most of our base spirits in our cocktails come from small independent brands which we work with directly. We source our gin and vodka from Hepple, around 25 miles from our production facility. We collect directly from the distillery which minimises the need for multiple couriers. We source our rum from Dropworks in Nottinghamshire, again dealing direct with the distillery reduces the need for extra shipping. We get shipped direct which means there is no need for more transportation through wholesalers.
The only exception of British brands being El Sueno Tequila. The reason we chose El Sueno for our tequila is their journey of sustainability. They used ages agave, with a percentage of all their crops being allowed to flower so they can generate the next era of crop. All spent products go to local famers to help with ethical fertilisation of the land which in turn help cultivate new Blue Webber Agave
Our aim to create a zero waste on trade product
with the business growing in the right direction, we’ve had a strong focus on how we can create a more sustainable product for our b2b on trade customers. Over the past 18 months, this has seen us create bag in box options, with refillable 1L glass bottles so it hugely minimises glass wastage. upon doing this, we had some high volume customers that then had excess plastic wastage from the back in boxes. Don’t get us wrong, the average saving per 30 cocktails was around 3KG in glass but we were always conscious about the plastic. Fast forward to now, we have created a 5L refillable jerry can for on trade. This now saves 5KG of glass but cocktail order and because we can collect (or arrange collection) of the jerry cans, we can now clean, sterilise and refill them to create a zero waste product for on trade. Something we are extremely proud of.
Our plan for Grounded is to eventually do the same thing, once the business grows to the point where its becoming a high volume product in cocktail bars and restaurants, we will introduce a 5L refillable jerry can with a refillable bottle for behind the bar. Again, creating a zero waste option for on trade customers.You can find out more about our aims for sustainability or if you would like any information regarding stocking our products, please email us by clicking the link below.
GROUNDED X ECOLOGI
From the very beginning we knew we wanted to give back with GROUNDED but we weren’t sure exactly who we wanted to partner with. After months of research we just knew Ecologi would be the perfect fit. Having partnered with them so with every bottle of GROUNDED sold, we can plant a tree in the areas where we take from! Our core believes within the brand was that if we take something from these countries/continents, we should be putting something back! The more we grow, the more we hope we can support further initiatives with Ecologi. Its an exciting time to be part of a business with such an amazing journey!
wanderlust wines
We went a little different for our wines both in the shop and behind the bar in Hummingbird HQ. We decided to go with Wanderlust Wines, not just because of the banging wines (which they are) but also because of their strong sustainable ties and roots.
Wanderlust have a strong sense of ethos in which they stand by three things. Better on your pocket. Better connection to the people, Better for the planet. All of their wines have to follow their guidelines which are: Organically farmed, Vineyards with a moral compass, Minimal intervention, Natural (not chemical) protection and Minimal machinery. With this in mind, sustainability is for forefront of how Wanderlust work and exactly the reason we wanted to use them for what we offer! Oh yeah, they are also the importer so we again, minimise the traveling of the product by getting it sent directly to us and not through a third party distributor.
