It’s been a while since we profiled your brand reps – aka business development managers and executives etc. to give them a couple of their official titles.
Some might say it’s been too long. So here’s the ninth of our ten, and we enjoyed catching up with them so much and there are so many of you doing a similarly grand job, we’re going to feature reps every month. Get in touch if you want to be included.
Ian Hardie ‘Ham’
Sales Manager
Fierce Beer
Aberdeenshire
Ian, 31, goes by the name Ham because that’s what predictive text changed his name to on an old Nokia phone.
He worked in Peterhead hotels The Waterside and The Courtyard when he left school followed by a spell in the oil industry before finally answering his hospitality calling for good.
“I worked at an on-shore gas terminal. The lifestyle wasn’t the best and then I had an accident that meant I was off work for a few years and had to reassess life and that’s when I decided to go back to hospitality.
“I walked into a bar job working for Fierce Beer bar in Aberdeen. From there I went on to be a supervisor and duty manager to helping out in the brewery. That was four years ago and I went full time and started doing sales. I’ve sold loads since then. I love pubs. I love the face to face and dealing with people. I love talking about beer. I am passionate about the stuff but I didn’t know I was good at all this until I started selling it!”
His four core range beers are Fierce Hazy, Fierce IPA, Fierce Pilsner, and Fierce Rhubarb.
Says Ian, “They’re all gluten-free and vegan. You don’t need to make anything with animal bi-products in it. They’re better for everyone.”
Ian worked right through the pandemic apart from a two-month furlough right at the start and he’s noticed a swing towards more local breweries over the last year or so.
“Some licensees are looking more to local breweries since the pandemic and this might be down to them not being able to get supplies or it could be a change in attitude and noticing that more creativity and innovation is happening on their doorstep.
“We’ve gone into bigger bar groups that might not otherwise have taken on a local beer as a result. The McGinty’s Group has just taken us on in all of their venues.”
Aberdeenshire might be a vast area to cover, but the drinks industry community is small and close-knit.
“We are friendly with the guys at Brew Toon. You might call it a friendly rivalry because we keep in touch often – it’s such a small community in Aberdeen and everybody knows everybody so you’ve got to have one another’s back.”