As part of our series on the theme of this year’s World Intellectual Property Day, “Women in IP,” we are putting the spotlight on female innovators and creators Forresters are proud to have worked with to secure IP protection. We will be looking at the brains behind their incredible ideas, and exploring what it means to be a woman in their respective industries.
We caught up with Amanda Thomson, CEO and Founder of Thomson & Scott, one of the world’s leading non-alcoholic wine brands. Forresters recently assisted Thomson & Scott with the registration of their latest trade mark, “Noughty,” a range of alcohol-free, organic, vegan, halal, no-sugar sparkling wines; a truly unique product developed in anticipation of the global non-alcoholic market reaching an estimated $1.6 trillion by 2025.
Tell us a little bit about Thomson & Scott.
The company was originally formed to revolutionise the wine industry into being more open about how perfect balance in wine can be found with purity of production and to spotlight the amount of sugar in Champagne and wine. We started with a zero dosage (no added sugar) Champagne that people understood was as elegant and beautifully balanced as possible, and secondly to promote transparency in wine labelling.
At the time there was very little indication that the wine industry wanted to be more transparent about what is put into its bottles ingredients-wise. Consumer understanding was generally that wine only consisted of grapes and alcohol, and of course, we know that there is far much more going into wine than just that.
I launched the successful Champagne and then a top-quality organic successful low-sugar Prosecco which grew fast, but realised that the broader opportunity in the drinks industry was the growth of the non-alcoholic space. Although the beer and spirits industry had seen the future, the wine industry was still not embracing the idea that consumers might want to have something that was delicious, but didn’t contain alcohol. This is when Noughty was born. Also pertinent was my vision that whichever way I framed it, my favourite wines weren’t “healthy,” so there was a drive to create something special here for all wine lovers in the global market who were not being served.
What does the work you do mean to you?
Fundamentally, we’re changing the wine industry landscape by showing consumers that you can drink delicious and elegantly crafted wine without having to worry about alcohol content. More and more people are looking to balance their alcohol intake these days and so if we can contribute towards a healthy lifestyle with something elegant and delicious where you don’t feel as though you’re missing out, then I’m delighted.
What made you consider IP protection?
Having a genius idea like Noughty (not our words, to be clear- those of the media!) means that you will undoubtedly attract competition. So the value of our IP and our brand is essential to our successful growth over the next few years.
What is it like to be a woman in your industry?
There is no doubt that being a woman in the wine industry is a tough gig. It’s fundamentally been a male-dominated world since wine was invented. But I am meeting an increasing number of very smart and engaged women – and, importantly, men – in the industry who are making significant changes to the way in which the business works and is also viewed from the outside.
There are still far too few women being invested in, even though it’s known that a female-led brand is ironically much more likely to be successful than a male-led one. The statistics don’t lie.
What advice would you give to other female innovators early in their careers?
Surround yourself with people who can pick up in areas where you may have weaknesses. Get yourself a cracking finance person and don’t get distracted by those who want to change you out of your lane. If I had my time again, at the beginning, I would certainly have been more cynical about individuals approaching me as consultants to trade equity when really, all they’re often doing, is looking to take a sizeable piece of the pie for minimal input.
What’s next for Thomson & Scott?
Global domination! We are currently the leading premium non-alcoholic wine brand in the world. I hope that we can say in a few years’ time that we were responsible for fundamentally changing the face of the wine industry for the better.
Thank you to Amanda for taking the time to speak with us about World Intellectual Property Day.
