Drinks company aims to use rescued fruit to prevent food waste and boost sustainability
Artisan gin brand Penrhos Spirits has been working with Herefordshire fruit growers to help save raspberries and tackle food waste.
Founders Charlie Turner and Dickie Williams, who both come from a farming background, noticed the amount of ‘perfectly imperfect’ fruit that was going to waste, having been declared unable to be sold to supermarkets.
From there, Penrhos’ Wonky Raspberry Gin was born – a small batch of high-quality gin, made of wonky raspberries, grain spirit and natural water, and packaged in a 100 per cent recycled aluminium bottle.
Penrhos said that by the end of this summer it had saved 52,000 raspberries, with the help of multiple farms across Herefordshire and nationwide consumers shopping the Wonky Raspberry Gin at Sainsbury’s.
The drinks firm cited data from LEAF showing that up to 20 per cent of raspberries go to waste every year, and the rescued raspberries have made over 4,000 bottles of Wonky Raspberry Gin, saving 1,680 punnets from going to waste.
Next year, Penrhos says it is aiming to save even more raspberries, as well as continuing its crusade for all alcohol brands, big and small, to rehome their spirits in more sustainable packaging. The company says its 100 per cent recycled aluminum bottles have improved its carbon footprint by 91 per cent.
The move is the latest by Penrhos Spirits, which last year kicked off a partnership with Oddbox that saw it create a ‘deliciously odd’ limited edition Cucumber and Apple Gin, made with wonky waste products.
