The Hopeful

Gillespie's Fine Spirits Ltd., Squamish

SPECIALTY: Vodka, gin and flavoured spirits made from B.C. grains and fruit FOUNDED: 2013 THE STORY SO FAR: Besides serving drinks at their Squamish lounge, Gillespie's founders John Mclellan and Kelly Ann Woods sell online and supply B.C. restaurants and private liquor stores. At first glance, the U.S. looks like a natural market for a Canadian craft spirits company looking to go international. But as Woods points out, each state has its own set of regulations for liquor imports. “We thought, ` Well, what's the point of that if we can reach a much larger market just by going into Asia, for instance?'”

Gillespie's, whose head count fluctuates between two and seven, wants to stay craft and support local farmers. But growing that way takes time, Woods says. “So our interest in the Asian market is particularly the idea of sending off a pallet on a semiregular basis, and the cash flow that that'll provide to us is significant.”

China intrigues Gillespie's partly because its drinkers have surpassed Irish tipplers in annual consumption, according to the World Health Organization. Woods, who has yet to visit the country, hopes to capitalize on its growing middle class and what she calls an interest in Westernization: “They're looking for things that very much have a Canadian feel and identity.” TOP EXPORT CHALLENGE: “One part of it has to do with finding a particular buyer over there,” Woods says. “And then there's a whole bunch of different paperwork and confirmations.” But for Woods, the fact that there's one set of rules and regulations makes China a better bet than the smaller U.S. market. WHAT'S NEXT: Woods and Mclellan, who attended last August's Canada China Trade Conference in Vancouver, hope to line up a label designer, mentors and other key partners by the end of the year. Gillespie's plans to sell select products to Chinese consumers. One idea: barrel-aged maple vodka. — N.R.