Opulent origins

Umodzi Gin is a new sophisticated luxurious sugarcane gin infused with the finest flavours from across the continent and destined for the top tables and finest company at the glittering gatherings across Africa and Europe.

Umodzi Gin is made in Africa for the world. It teems with a taste of a dozen countries – a remarkable gathering of flavours from the far-flung corners of Africa: from mangoes grown on the shores of Lake Malawi to ginger from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. The branding was designed in Ghana and it is distilled and bottled in Johannesburg, South Africa.

profile pic of Dave Mountain

Disrupting traditions

David Mountain is a man on a mission to introduce his Sugarcane Gin containing 12 flavours from 12 countries in one luxurious product to the World - all while disrupting the $9 billion ‘traditional’ gin industry, with a product that champions Africa. The last David to face such odds carried a sling and a bag of stones into battle against a giant called Goliath. It is as daunting to take on the equally mighty and fiercely competitive liquor market in Africa and Europe in difficult economic times. To succeed he needs – without stretching the metaphor too much – to climb as high as his surname.

Umodzi’s Birth

Umodzi Gin was born from a dream in Malawi on 8 May 2019, this is the beautiful country where our Founder and serial entrepreneur David Mountain began living his entrepreneurial journey in ernest. It was in Malawi where David first tasted Sugarcane Gin, he knew that this product would be a hit outside of Malawi, he had tasted nothing like it before, the sugarcane was smooth on the palette, with a strength that left a nostalgic feel. David tried for some time to export this product but eventually met a closed door, it reminded him of a familiar feeling – rejection.

This is the world of Nottingham-born Entrepreneur and chef David Mountain. Not knowing how to give up, inpatient and determined, David decided on this day that he would create his own brand, 100% owned, 100% funded and 100% the vision of David Mountain.

Empowering Africa

We live in a world that is dominated by digital and this encourages collaboration on a global scale. Our founder David is passionate about the continent and people of Africa, having conducted business in Sub Saharan, Eastern and Western Africa and he is determined to empower and nurture the talent in the motherland.

The name Umodzi stands for Unity and that is the vision and ethos of this brand – to unite all four corners of Africa, creating exceptional products and services for the World that benefit Africa.

Designing
Umodzi

The Umodzi Gin logo was inspired by numerous ancient African alphabets across a number of cultures. The base font for the conception of the logo was Azonix; modern, minimal and has the premium appeal of modern Africanism. It too was home grown. “Sourcing the ideal graphic designer for the brand was the hardest part of creating Umodzi Gin,” recalls Mountain.

It took four months of trawling through options until he found the perfect agency for the job in Accra, Ghana.

The striking design of the Umodzi Gin bottle was also born in Africa. Again, the founder scoured the continent for a skilled glass bottle maker to conceive the unique black-and-copper foil design. He found what he was looking for in South Africa.

The bottle is made from recycled glass and can be used many more times over – yet the entrepreneur behind Umodzi Gin believes the impressive design of the bottle may mean people could postpone the recycling.

“The design of our bottle is so striking that we believe many can find another use for the empty bottle as a decoration around the house after they have enjoyed our product,” says Mountain.

Umodzi Gi Bottle and case
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