Pembrokeshire-based Barti is scaling-up production with a £200,000 investment from the Development Bank of Wales and a loan of £27,000 from Pembrokeshire Lottery.
Now stocked by Tesco and Co-op, the award-winning Barti Spiced Rum and Barti Cream Liqueur are available in retail stores throughout Wales in addition to independent outlets and online. The loans from the Development Bank and Pembrokeshire Lottery will be used to fund product development and pursue export global opportunities in Canada and Japan. Barti will also build a bespoke mobile bar for use at outdoor events.
Barti was established by Director Jonathan Williams in the summer of 2017. With a taste for seaweed, he also runs The Old Point House, East Angle Bay, Pembrokeshire where the menu is infamous for seaweed lobster rolls, sea plant salads and beach burgers at ‘Café Mor’at Angle near Pembroke.
Vanilla, cinnamon, clove and sweet citrus make up the main flavour profile of Barti Spiced Rum and Barti Cream Liqueur. Wild laver seaweed is then infused before being bottled in recycled glass and branded using labels that are a biproduct of cane sugar at bottling and distribution unites in Neyland and Hensol in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Jonathan Williams, once called the ‘crazy seaweed man’ by TV Chef James Martin, said: “This is the golden quarter for our industry, so it was important that we had the working capital required to purchase the stock needed to fulfil the increasing demand from Tesco and Co-op customers. We are also excited to be developing some new products as well as exploring export opportunities for our product range.
“Barti is a great tasting and stylish product that celebrates Pembrokeshire and is also environmentally friendly.
We’re proud to be Welsh and we’re passionate about Pembrokeshire so it was only natural that we work with Welsh funders who share our vision of Barti becoming the best-selling rum in the world.”
Kelly Jones is a Portfolio Executive with the Development Bank. She said: “Jonathan has turned his passion for cooking, local storytelling, sustainability and the sea into a thriving business that has every potential of becoming another great Welsh export given the increasing market demand for premium, artisanal craft drinks. Barti is a great brand that is gathering real momentum with customers wanting to enjoy a unique flavour combination. The mobile bar will mean that Barti will be found at events and festivals next year in addition to a growing list of retail stockists.”
The loan for Barti came from the £500 million Wales Flexible Investment Fund. Financed by Welsh Government, the Fund is for deals between £25,000 and £10 million. Loans, mezzanine finance, and equity investments are available for Welsh businesses with terms of up to 15 years.
