In 2015 I founded Neon Raptor Brewing Company with the intent of making the best beer I could possibly make and organically grow the business into something special. Due to the COVID-19 situation, for the first time in a very long time, I have been able to take a step back from the non-stop work required to run and manage a brewery and really think about things. I realised that the way Neon Raptor was structured and the business relationship with my business partners wasn’t working for me. I needed to change things to enable me to achieve my goals. After some soul searching, research and planning I decided that the best way forward, for me, was to set up a new brand and brewhouse to give me the platform I need to make achieving my goals possible. I have since sold off my stake in Neon Raptor. Azvex now has my full-time commitment.

I have been working on this new project for a couple of months now and have spent all of that time planning how to do things the way I feel is correct. I am very happy with my plan and what I have in store for everyone and have absolutely no doubt that this time I will do everything better. During the process of setting up this new project I will be able to make use of the million and one lessons I have learnt from my first time around, which truly is invaluable. There is a long list of things that I plan to implement at the new brewery, some of which are new things to me, others are improvements on what I have done before. It is all very exciting!

Azvex Brewing Co. will give me the ability to grow and improve my capability across all disciplines of running a brewery and business, which in turn, will help me create the best beer and experience for you all to enjoy.

On my last project I never documented the brewery setup but thought I should do that this time. When someone (myself included) considers starting up a brewery they have a lot of questions: How much does this cost? What permissions do I need to get? How long will this take? Can I buy that later? etc. As I have been through this before I have a much better idea of what to expect so I will document the steps I take on this blog which will hopefully help someone else further down the line.

It is a made-up name; it isn’t the name of a thing or place. It doesn’t exist, or at least it didn’t until now. There are several reasons I wanted this (I am already using the lessons learnt from last time!):

1. No IP infringement issues – Last time I chose a name I got bombarded with cease and desist letters, which is sadly very common in this industry. I didn’t think the name was similar enough to cause any confusion between brands, nor did the IP lawyer I consulted. However, the companies sending these letters were huge businesses with a lot of money and legal support so there was no way I could afford to fight it off. I ended up having to rebrand coming at a cost which I hadn’t budget for as well as a delay to the project that I really didn’t need. That won’t happen this time. Tip: For anyone also choosing a name, trademark your name straight away so that you have some protection and can avoid a dispute later down the line when it is much more expensive to rebrand. Although it was a massive pain for me, it was early on and it was a lot less work than if it was a number of years in.
2. Online searchability – When searching for Azvex you will find it. All too many businesses have a common word or phrase in their name making it a nightmare to find the correct thing you want. How many times have you googled something and ended up clicking on the wrong thing? I didn’t want that issue.
3. Unique association – Azvex currently isn’t linked to anything so it will become associated with beer/brewing. Words that are already in existence and not specific to beer have a primary association to something else, not the brand using the word. This creates a tough job to make a strong brand association. It can certainly be done, e.g. Apple, but much harder.
4. Simplicity – A one-word name is easier to remember, read and write.