A new gin produced from waste table grapes was officially launched in London last night, on World Recycling Day.
Kent-based Richard Hochfeld Ltd (RH Ltd) has found a unique way to recycle an estimated 166 million surplus table grapes – turning them into premium quality gin.
Called HYKE the gin is the result of a joint venture between partners RH Ltd and innovative West Sussex spirit maker Foxhole Spirits. HYKE aims to support the supermarket’s ongoing commitment to cut food waste and went on sale exclusively at 300 Tesco stores on Monday (March 18).
A major importer, packer and supplier of table grapes and other fresh fruits to Tesco, RH Ltd has itself committed to reducing food waste across its operations by at least 50% by 2030.
Karen Cleave, Technical Director at RH Ltd, explained: “For packing, the grapes are cut and trimmed to fit the punnets, leaving loose grapes and tiny bunches that can’t be sold as fresh.
“The size of the trade means that these lovely fresh grapes – equivalent to the weight of about 3.5 blue whales – end up as animal feed or in an anaerobic digester.”
Recognising that anaerobic digestion had slipped down the food waste hierarchy, Cleave began a search for a different direction. She looked at several potential routes for using the waste grape product before zeroing in on the burgeoning craft gin sector. As she refined her search to gin makers who were producing their own neutral spirit, all roads led to Foxhole Spirits, the makers of Foxhole Gin.
Foxhole Spirits’ mission is to create the first craft distillery focusing on the production of high-quality, premium spirits made from otherwise unused resources. It had already created Foxhole Gin (in 2016), distilled using the waste product of Sussex’s wine grape industry.
Karen knew she had waste product that could be become an integral part of the value chain and help to close the sustainability loop.
The waste product was pressed by Foxhole’s winery partner, Bolney Estate, fermented by the JV and distilled at Silent Pool into grape spirit, then gin. Throughout this process, Foxhole’s gin specialists analysed the grape and created HYKE’s distinctive character from both the grape spirit and a blend of botanicals inspired by the grapes’ African and South American origins.
James Oag-Cooper, MD and co-founder of Foxhole Spirits, said: “The result is a totally unique product which tastes exceptionally delicious, is beautifully presented, sustainably conscious and yet still affordable.”
As HYKE enjoyed its first day in store on Monday, RH Ltd’s Cleave said: “This is a win-win scenario that links growers, importer, gin maker, retailer and consumer in a sustainable and virtuous circle that could reduce the waste in Tesco’s table grape programme to close to zero very quickly.”
HYKE gin is being sold exclusively at Tesco, in 50cl bottles with a strength of 40% ABV. It costs £24.
For more information:
Alan Guindi
Richard Hochfeld Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)1732 885566
Alan.Guindi@richardhochfeld.co.uk