Our Story
Nestled in a tiny village in the heart of the Cotswolds, the Bottlegreen factory has been carefully crafting a delicious range of soft drinks for 18 years. Our story began back in 1989 when founders, Kit and Shireen Morris, first started bottling the taste of the English countryside.
Kit always had a passion for winemaking and studied a PHD in Botany at Leicester University. Using this knowledge, Kit applied his expertise to the fledgling English Wine industry and worked at Merrydown, then Three Choirs in Newent. During his time at Three Choirs he met his future wife and business partner, Shireen. Shireen's parents both ran their own businesses, so being an entrepreneur was definitely in her blood!
Shireen encouraged Kit to branch out on his own. His job was not very well paid and so there wasn't much to lose. So, with no business experience they decided to go it alone. Shireen sold shares left to her to raise the capital they needed and they took out a loan from the bank, with Shireen's dad as a guarantor.
In 1987, they planted 10 acres of vines with the dream of making English wine from the locally abundant elderflowers. But wine takes a long time to develop, so to ease cash flow during the first year they started to make elderflower cordial in their kitchen at home.
The elderflower cordial tasted delicious and was an instant hit with friends and family so Kit and Shireen changed their plans to concentrate on making the cordial using their winemaking expertise.
In the beginning, it was like a cottage industry business with the cordials being produced in their kitchen and Shireen sticking the label onto each bottle by hand. They would then take the bottles to the local farmers market in nearby South Woodchester and Nailsworth to be sold to the people of Stroud and rural Gloucestershire, and at local delis and country fairs. Word soon spread of the exceptional taste of our elderflower cordial and as our reputation grew, so did the Bottlegreen family!
It wasn't long before the cordials were being sold in supermarkets and the business really started to take off. Eighteen years down the line, our drinks are now being enjoyed by thousands of people all over the world. From hand-blended cordials and sparkling presses to sumptuous sorbets, and still drinks - our products are loved for their unique blend of intense flavours.
In 2007, Bottlegreen's original founders, Kit and Shireen, handed control of the business over to some of their most passionate employees via a team buyout. They have now retired to the French countryside but are still as passionate as ever about Bottlegreen and make regular trips back to their beloved elderflower farm and factory to lend their expertise to the team.
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