Highland Boundary
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“There are so many enjoyable aspects of what we do but I think the most rewarding is using our products to re-connect people with Scotland’s native plants and wild countryside”
Marian Bruce, Co-Founder, Highland Boundary
Highland Boundary is a private company which produces bespoke Scottish botanical spirits form their estate in the Perthshire countryside. The drinks are created using local spring water, grains and botanicals (such as birch, elderflower and honeysuckle) foraged from the Highland Boundary farm site. Foraging is distinct from ‘harvesting’ involving working with nature and minimising our impact, as indigenous people have done for thousands of years.
Co-founder Marian said that she was inspired to launch Highland Boundary “to make spirits with true wild flavours of Scotland that had been forgotten about for many years, using only our native flora”.
Highland Boundary aims to show that businesses can and should be making a positive impact. Since taking over the estate in 2008 Highland boundary has taken steps to re-wild and re-forest the estate and increase the biodiversity on site. Between 2008 and 2020, tree cover on the estate was increased by 407%. As well as improving the biodiversity on site, the company is also looking to purchase or partner with another site which, alongside foraging, could be improved and a new income stream created from the sale of carbon credits.
Alongside supporting nature to flourish on the site, the company is committed to sustainability more generally. “Our electricity comes from solar panels on our farm roof; our offices are heated using biomass and the cooling water from our still comes directly from a natural spring and is recycled through our wildlife pond once it has cooled, continuing the water cycle.”
Read more about the company here.
Revenue Model
Sales of spirits and liqueurs.
Public/Grant Funding
Highland Boundary has received a small grants from Scottish Enterprise and Re-designing Rural.
Legal Arrangements
The company owns 2.8 hectares of land freehold and has a botanical collection license for 150 hectares of land owned by Forestry and Land Scotland (Scottish Government)
Parties Involved
Family-run business and retail customers.
Environmental Improvement
Rewilding, increasing forest cover and biodiversity. Creation of pond/wetland habitat. Leading national development of natural product sector in Scotland. Collaborative research with six Scottish Universities/Research Institutes (Heriot Watt, University of Edinburgh, Robert Gordon University, Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Aberdeen University, IBioIC/Strathclyde University) on a range of research topics. These collaborations aim to grow the natural products sector in Scotland to realise it’s potential for nature and for the green-economy.
Social Impact and Engagement
Creation of five local jobs.
Showcasing possibility of natural products sector evidenced by innovation awards https://interface.ei.ed.ac.uk/case-studies/highland-boundary , and international awards for products
Directors are both founder members of Alyth Development Trust.
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