Meet Sarah Yates, founder of Sea Arch Drinks
Sarah Yates is the award-winning co-founder of Sea Arch Drinks Ltd. After going to catering college Sarah started her career in the hospitality industry as a trainee housekeeper at the Munich Hilton. She met her husband, (a pastry chef from Blackpool!) and they travelled together, working in various 5* hotels in Europe and the Middle East.
They set up their first business together in Devon, (where Sarah grew up), in 1990. Chantilly Patisserie was a dessert manufacturing business supplying local hotels and restaurants in Torbay. From just a couple of employees working in a small kitchen, it went on to become a national company, with over 40 employees, making quality desserts for the catering trade.
Once their two children, Carrie and George were grown up, Sarah decided she needed a new challenge and went to university, where she gained a First-Class Honours degree in Business and Administration.
Feeling motivated, she then bought the lease to a run-down café and with a strong vision and hard work transformed it into a popular Wine Bar serving high quality food and drink. Sarah won a Venus Award for best new business for her achievement here.
After four years, she sold the business. This allowed Sarah and Geoff to embark on their third start-up business. Probably the biggest challenge yet. Like many of their Wine Bar customers Sarah and Geoff were beginning to care more about what they ate and drank, wanting to become a little more mindful, they were looking for non-alcoholic drinks alternatives that didn’t compromise on taste or experience.
Inspired by the striking Devon coast where they live, they developed Sea Arch, a crisp and refreshing distilled non-alcoholic spirit.
Working with a co-founder can be tricky, so understanding and compromise is important. How have you both found the process of building a business together? What makes it work?
My co-founder is also my husband and Sea Arch Drinks is our third venture together. We understand really well each other’s strengths and weaknesses. and tend to focus on the areas of the business that best suits our own skill set and experience. Geoff is more concerned with product development and logistics I am more on the sales and marketing side of things. As you can imagine, there is a large area of overlap. Although we don’t agree on everything, after some, shall we say, lively discussions, we do always find a way forward.
What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?
We were running our own wine bar in 2018 in Torquay and noticed an increasing number of our customers, for a variety of reasons, didn’t always want to drink alcohol. They did, however, want to enjoy a night out with friends or family in our restaurant. Other than a sugary soft drink or water there was very little we could offer them. We had read about the new non-alcoholic spirits that were coming onto the market and after some research decided to have a go at making one ourselves.
Any moments where you thought you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?
Yes, many times. We had run two successful businesses together and felt a non-alcoholic drinks business was linked to hospitality and customer experience, which is our working background. However, the scale of the task was often quite daunting. Export for example, was new to us, the hoops we had to jump through to get our product to the other side of the world to Australia and the strict rules we had to adhere to in order get Sea Arch into the Middle East seemed at times almost insurmountable. However we are now available in some high end retail and hospitality venues across the Middle East and Australia, both countries are growing markets for us.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?
You can’t do it on your own.
Good partners are essential, especially as our model with this business is to outsource most things eg production, PR, distribution, so these partners are key to our success. Although we have kissed a few frogs along the way we now feel that we have the ideal partners in place in all the key areas who are all part of the Sea Arch team.
What keeps you motivated as an entrepreneur when you hit bumps in the road?
The intrinsic will to succeed is part of the entrepreneurs makeup. Geoff and I support each other and instinctively know when the other is struggling so are there to encourage and comfort when required. There is also a real confidence and belief that comes from knowing that we have a really great product and brand. We’ve hit bumps in the road in both our previous businesses and have always found ways to get over them. They are all part of the journey and make success all the sweeter.
What would be your top three tips to fellow entrepreneurs to look after their mental health?
Take time out. Being physically and mentally removed from the business allows you to look at it with fresh eyes and get a more balanced perspective on things. Sometimes it’s hard to see the wood for the trees when you are so deep in it. Talking to people unrelated to the business about unrelated things, often helps to clear the fog and provide clarity, leading to less anxiety and far better decision making.
Eat and drink well. Healthy living is part of the Sea Arch ‘raison d’etre’ Its widely documented how unhealthy alcohol is for both physical and mental health. According to the WHO (2022) in people aged 20-39 approximately 13.5% of the total deaths is attributable to alcohol.
Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have the ‘perfect work -life balance’, whatever that is! As an entrepreneur, in my experience, that doesn’t exist, it’s just a myth. You have to find a balance that works for you to fulfil your goals and remain sane in the process and then reconcile yourself to the fact that it will be work-heavy and very demanding.
What does your business offer its target audience?
Our target audience are around 25 – 55-year-olds who care about their health and either don’t drink alcohol or are looking to cut back. They are discerning foodies who like stylish brands that are made with skill in an ethical way.
Statistics show that an increasing number of people want to cut back on alcohol or even give it up altogether. Overall consumption of alcohol in England and Wales has fallen by around 16% since 2004 (Alcohol-change UK)
Research by The Portman Group (2021) shows that almost one in three (32%) of UK drinkers consume low and no alcohol products on a semi-regular basis compared to one in four (25%) in 2020.
Sea Arch delivers a drink that has all the flavour, craft and style of an alcoholic drinking experience without the alcohol!
With all the success stories around entrepreneurship and how innovative people have to be to take the leap. How do you think you’ve innovated your sector and why?
The No & Low drinks category was born out of innovation. Just a few years ago there would be no way that the quality in flavour and craft would have been achieved without real imagination and invention. As innovators we are throwing off the chains of what a social drinking experience formerly comprised and are completely reimagining it. The category captures the growing desire for health and wellness but crucially without missing out on the sense of occasion and celebration that drinking is synonymous with. We offer choice and inclusivity at a time when these things are being sought after in so many walks of life.
A non-alcoholic spirit did not exist before about 2014. Some people entered the market thinking it was easy, just take out the alcohol right? Wrong, the process is neither quick nor easy, which also means it’s not cheap! Inferior products increased the risk of damaging this new sector before it got established. We have always pursued quality and excellence and have been pioneers along with many other brands in bringing the category from niche to mainstream.
Is it still possible to build a strong and successful business without social media. If yes or no, why?
We think it’s a fast, inexpensive and effective way to reach customers and potential customers. There are more than 4.2 billion active social media users around the world. It certainly helps that our brand is so photogenic, which allows us to have a gorgeous feed with engaging content that reflects our brand. Who doesn’t want to be transported to a beautiful coastal setting with a refreshing cocktail in hand when having a quick scroll on a wet Wednesday in February?
Brand awareness is really important to our growth and social media certainly helps with that. 83% of Instagram users say they discover new products on this platform (Hootsuite 2022). We are able to educate and inform which is really important to both Sea Arch and the category as a whole as non-alcoholic drinks are still not known or understood by everyone.
What’s the most common problem your customers approach you with?
They want to drink less alcohol in a place and for an occasion that traditionally only caters for alcohol drinkers, be that in a bar, restaurant or at home.
They don’t want to be left out of an occasion or event, just because they choose not to drink alcohol
They don’t have enough choice when not drinking alcohol – they want a real alternative, a drink that tastes great and is served with the same flare and sophistication as that of an alcoholic drink.
Does your company help the community that you’re located in?
We are a coastal brand. It inspired Sea Arch in both its flavour, - we use coastal botanicals which grow locally and the packaging - the beautiful marine blue bottles and wave pattern label. We therefore understand the importance of protecting the seas and coasts, its where we live, work and play. We support The Seahorse Trust who are based locally, but whose amazing work protecting seahorses and the wider marine environment has a worldwide reach.
