A New Year and New Directions!

Introduction

A very good year to you all! I hope the holiday season was a nice one. And that your new year's resolutions may hold strong for a long time.

A new year starts a new period, and as not all times are created equal, a new year is often a new start. For those personal resolutions. And, on an organizational level, for new policies to be introduced, for new lessons to be learned and implemented. Companies, iStill included, need to adapt and develop, just like people do. This iStill Blog post is about our new resolutions, about our new policies. It is about how we see the industry change and how we need to change to adapt to that.

Industry

The craft distilling industry grows into maturity. Time does that. Challenges like Corona and the current macro-economic situation, with its high interest, energy, and resource prices, do that too. In times of challenges you need to grow up quickly to stay relevant. To stay in business even. And - even though many are struggling right now - struggle is part of life. It is part of adult life.

So ... as the industry steps out of puberty and into adulthood, what does that mean for us? How does iStill adapt to that huge change? How does Odin adapt? In a more mature industry, we need to play a more adult role. Simply put: we need to grow up as well!

Realisations

Before, iStill was a movement, fighting for the industry, exposing what was wrong, and empowering what needed to be improved upon. iStill wasn't exactly run like a business, though. Did you need our help in growing up? Here we are! With new technology, with our support staff available for you, with Odin's expertise at your service. Anything to make that transition happen, anything to give craft distillers a fighting chance in a cut-throat market.

But now, with the industry coming of age, what is our new role? With YOU instead of us pushing things forward, what do you expect from us? In a situation that is so different, that is changing rapidly, "more of the same" will not cut it. To stay relevant, we too need to grow-up and improve. So ... what do we realize, thinking about these matters? Here are a few points of interest:

1. A more adult craft distilling industry needs professional technology and support;
2. As a movement is no longer needed, we need to become a well-run company if we are to supply that support;
3. A more business-like approach is needed to guaranty long term success;
4. Because we only stay relevant as long as we add value to our customers (this is as true for you as it is true for us).

Implications and focus

In order to adapt to a maturing market, iStill decides to focus on where our technology makes a difference: the fully automated and robotized iStill Hybrid. If a distiller wants a traditional still or an non- or half-automated design, there are other suppliers out there. Our USP is the much better distilling technology that we offer. A focus on our strength and a focus on where we make a genuine difference for you.

We will also grow and professionalize our services. Expect a whole new suite of services that help you starting up your iStill, that help you use your iStill to the maximum of its potential, that help you become a better and more successful distiller as well as entrepreneur. A growing suite of services to support a lean and mean product portfolio.

Professionalization? Professionalization is all about clarity. What do you need? What do we have on offer that fulfills that need? What does it make for us to help you fulfilling that need? Expect an extensive suite of new services, with clarity of what that service entails and costs and delivers to you.

A leaner and meaner product portfolio. An extensive number of supporting services that make your lives easier. A more business-like and a more professional approach to replace the movement we once were. iStill as an even more impressive powerhouse in distillation technology and knowledge. Sounds like an organizational change, a new direction even. And new directions ask for new management. We are proud to announce that Wim Roest will be iStill's new managing director and COO. Odin will no longer be responsible for day to day operations, but will focus on innovation management and new business initiatives.