Wild Distillery wants to be self-sufficient in raw materials from Bornholm
Wild Distillery and owner Henrik Nerst has got new surroundings in Lobbæk, where the company will in future cultivate its own juniper berries and aims to become self-sufficient in Bornholm raw materials.
Bornholm as a brand has been an important contributing factor to the explosive growth gin distillery Wild Distillery has experienced since entering the market in 2019. That is according to owner and gin producer Henrik Nerst, who has now moved his business and wild visions to larger premises and surroundings in Lobbæk.
In fields in Lobbæk, 400 juniper bushes stand in long rows. The owner of the land with the evergreen bushes is gin maker Henrik Nerst, who at Easter 2025 was able to welcome people into his new premises in Lobbæk – a disused nursery with associated land, which has now become home to his business Wild Distillery Bornholm.
The plan is for the company to become self-sufficient in raw materials in the future – particularly in juniper berries, as juniper is the main ingredient when you produce gin, says Henrik Nerst, explaining that the kilograms of juniper they are permitted to forage in Ravnedalen do not match their current production level.
– So that is the advantage of Lobbæk. Here we have a disused nursery with several hectares of land.
Back in 2023, the first 400 juniper bushes were planted in the ground, and this autumn a further 400 bushes have been added, says the Bornholm gin producer, who has not been deterred by people's warnings that being a juniper grower is practically an impossible mission, because the bushes both grow slowly and require special soil and environmental conditions.
The impossible square bottle
However, it is also not the first time in his business journey that he has gone against what seemingly appears impossible to others.
When I started back in 2018, I chose a square bottle, unlike many of my peers who choose a round one. In addition, I wanted the front to be transparent and the text on the outside to be raised so that you could feel it, just as the back also had to feature an image where the colours were nicely represented. Everything had to look sophisticated. But all the label and labelling companies I spoke to in Denmark flatly refused and said: ”You can't make that. It doesn't exist.«.
Instead, he was advised to choose a round bottle, which in turn could be manufactured as luminous, in neon colours and with gold and glitter, if need be. But Henrik Nerst did not give up his idea.
– I started thinking about alternatives and got in touch with Miccom Skilte og Design in Nexø, a former partner. When he saw my square bottle, he initially turned the project down too. But as he had just been to a trade fair where he was introduced to a new type of printer that could print on anything, he was willing to give it a try. And long story short, we are borrowing a printer like that, and then we get started, says Henrik Nerst, who at that point was already ready to go regarding the contents of the bottle, which he also refuses to compromise on.
– Our gin is characterised by the Nordic style with a clean, clear taste of juniper and citrus notes, and without a taste of pine needles. And by the way, if a gin tastes of pine needles, it is not because there are pine needles in it, but because it's being done wrong, the gin enthusiast explains.
Owner Henrik Nerst. Photo: Wild Distillery
Corona gave orders
A lot has happened, however, to the Bornholm gin maker since he embarked on his distilling adventure.
– Originally, the plan was for my wife and me to scale back. We've previously run a restaurant business and then we had a late arrival, and the plan was for me to potter about distilling a bit, visit some customers and sell a couple of bottles here and there.
But then one thing led to another, he says.
– I got the first still in 2018, and set about experimenting. And as soon as we launched on the market on 28 August 2019, we rapidly experienced explosive growth, despite corona coming shortly afterwards, he says.
– We made a webshop, and when people bought a bottle of gin, we gave a bottle of hand sanitiser completely free of charge, and it went absolutely mental, we were booming along, remembers Henrik Nerst, who soon had four employees, some of whom only stood and packed the webshop.
During the pandemic, people couldn't travel or go to restaurants, well then you treat yourself in other ways. And that was clearly what happened here – the sales of our products increased significantly.
Expanding with café operations and functions
The gin producer does not doubt the significance Bornholm has had for their rapid growth either.
– Bornholm has a good reputation when it comes to food. And that has contributed to things going as quickly as they have and still do. It has had a really positive effect. There is no doubt about that at all.
Since then, things have moved quickly with more guided tours, participation in trade fairs, and scaled-up production.
– In 2022 we got a 2,000-litre pot. It is the largest that Müller has made, and they are the leaders in making distillation equipment.
The new premises in Lobbæk provide the setting for a shop, showroom and café alike – and make room for parties and an ever-growing customer base.
The relocation of production from Aakirkeby to Lobbæk has also just taken place in order to grow further. In addition to a shop and showroom, there is now also a café operation underway, just as they have gained the capacity to host parties. And at the same time, the customer base continues to grow.
– Bornholm is a market in its own right, where we have a presence in all sorts of places; then there’s our online shop and the spirits retailers, which are two markets in their own right. In addition, we have the entire private-label market, which is yet another market in its own right and currently accounts for 40% of turnover, he explains.
– At some point we need to look at the international export market, but as long as we haven't saturated Denmark with our products, there's no reason to spend a huge amount of energy on exporting. Right now, it's only me who sells and drives around visiting businesses, but in the long run I'm going to need a distributor in Denmark.
What barriers do you encounter and how do you overcome them?
– Apart from hard work, I think the worst thing we are facing right now is all the hassle that comes with the administrative side and the packaging. That is the biggest hurdle for us. As an entrepreneur, you would rather spend your time developing and getting things off the ground – not on paperwork and red tape. The administrative work is a burden for business. But there is nothing to do other than set aside time for it and get some employees to look at it.
An urban development in Lobbæk
Currently there are six full-time employees, a couple of flexible job workers and a couple of freelance salespeople across the water. And the future looks bright for the company, he thinks:
– I look positively upon it. Now that we've moved. It's been the first year, and we're completely surprised by how many people come to Lobbæk, says Henrik Nerst, explaining that they have already expanded their parking area twice to make room for all the cars that are now rolling past them in Lobbæk.
He considers that many tourists also like to seek out places away from the island's traditional tourist spots in order to experience something different. And Lobbæk can be a sanctuary, as he says. However, it is not only from tourists that Wild Distillery has experienced support for their new haunt on the island. He also finds that Lobbæk's own residents are more than satisfied with their initiative.
– The residents of Lobbæk have given us an insanely good reception. It's truly touching. They are happy and seem proud, and they kindly and eloquently explain that now, development is finally happening after 50 years. Because previously there were both three butchers, two second-hand shops, a bank, etc. here. But since they turned the key, it's only gone downhill, and finally someone is coming along to create some development in the town. That has really been supported.
As long as all the producers on Bornholm agree to make a high-quality product, he doesn't see any major obstacles overall for the food industry on Bornholm either, where he is also happy to live and run a business.
– I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Running a manufacturing business on Bornholm means that goods take a day longer to arrive, but you get used to that, says the Bornholm gin producer, who otherwise sees no challenges in being a business owner on the island. Quite the contrary.
– Because I can sense in the shops we visit that it makes a difference, because Bornholm as a brand in general has a reputation when we talk about food. People associate Bornholm with high quality.
BY JOAN ØHRSTRØM