Smilov Spirits brings the best of local produce to its gin and vodka.
The first batch of Smilov Spirits vodka sold out in 24 hours.
That was June 2021.
Now, Smilov Spirits’ products are found in bottle shops across Western Australia, including Dan Murphy’s and BWS, which are the distiller’s key partners.
In March, the spirits company extended its relationship with the major chains to include Liquorland.
In addition to supplying Perth Airport, an array of hotels, hospitality venues and bars, Smilov Spirits vodka is sold by Qantas as the only WA-made vodka available on the airline’s retail alcohol store, Qantas Wine.
Only three of the 18 brands advertised are Australian, with Smilov Spirits vodka displayed alongside Tasmania’s Lawrenny Saint Clair Vodka and The Antipodes Gin Company vodka from Canberra.
Despite the growth of Smilov Spirits across WA, the Margaret River-based company has no cellar door and no third-party distributers.
It’s entirely self-funded by its owners, husband and wife, Mitchell and Mary Smilovitis.
The couple had been in India for more than three years with their three sons before they made a last-minute return to WA on the cusp of the pandemic in 2020, taking up residence in Margaret River.
“My wife and I have been in business for a long time,” Mr Smilovitis told Business News.
“We started our first business together when I was 20 and that’s all we’ve ever done.”
In India, Mr Smilovitis worked in business relations in the hospitality sector, while Ms Smilovitis ran a business focused on expatriates living in India.
Their latest venture was already taking shape upon their return to Australia.
“We were working on a range of ideas and the opportunity to explore spirits came up,” Mr Smilovitis said.
“It was a lot to learn and understand, but the marketing and branding we’d done in similar businesses before, so we weren’t too concerned with how we’d build the business and scale it.”
Given the restraints on movements associated with the government’s response to COVID, Mr and Ms Smilovitis chose to build an online presence for the freshly founded venture.
They developed the business entirely online and sold the products exclusively through the digital platform.
Mr Smilovitis said the inability to establish a cellar door or hospitality venue during the pandemic enabled the small company to focus on perfecting its product and distribution.
“Another reason we put all of our efforts into our social media presence and digital cellar door was to maintain control of the distribution in-house rather than approaching a third party to move our products,” he said.
Mr and Ms Smilovitis also invested time and energy developing their social media content and blog.
“A lot of our content is around the ‘home bar experience’ and creating cocktails with good quality spirits in your own home,” Mr Smilovitis said.
“I’m Greek and Mary’s Indian, so we typically have lots of family over and there’s heaps of cooking involved, so food pairings is a big part of our lives.”
From website to social media, the marketing strategy driving Smilov Spirits is capturing the South West experience at home.
“It’s that feeling of being in the South West, visiting a cellar door for tastings and then buying the product to capture that experience at home,” Mr Smilovitis said.
“That’s what we’re doing; trying to capture that experience by creating the concept and providing the solution.
“Growth is always good, but we want to build a better business, not just a bigger business.”
The Smilov Blog shares cocktail recipes, meal recipes using vodka or gin as an ingredient, and a cocktail of the week, among other posts.
Purple gin
Smilov Spirits launched its first gin product on April 4, leading up to the Easter long weekend.
The gin, lavender in colour and flavour, was curated using local Margaret River ingredients to remain authentic to the South West, including native botanicals and rainwater.
“The purple gin was one of the first products we wanted to do, but it’s taken close to 18 months to just get it right,” Mr Smilovitis said.
“Our gin is naturally coloured to eliminate compromise on quality and to highlight the subtle lavender notes in appearance and taste.”
Ms Smilovitis said the time dedicated to perfecting the recipe made the new gin worth the wait.
“I’m beyond ecstatic to see this vision come to life,” she said.
Another driver for Smilov Spirits is maintaining a low environmental footprint by using biodegradable boxes, bubble wrap, bottle cases and shipping packaging.
“Every part of the business, we’re always mindful of our overall footprint,” Mr Smilovitis said.
To this end, Smilov Spirits only distils once every three months to avoid resource wastage.
“We call our whole operation ‘sleeping’ until we distil,” Mr Smilovitis said.
“Everything is in sleeping mode until we use it.
“It’s about minimising those ongoing costs to save a huge amount of water, waste, energy and drainage, but also keep financial costs down for the business.”
Mr and Ms Smilovitis recently travelled to Melbourne to explore Smilov Spirits’ expansion into the Victorian liquor market, which is planned for within the next 12 months
