The Buyer | Nicky Burston on how & why The Drinks Trust wants to raise £1m

You have launched the Face it Together campaign- what do you hope to achieve?

Face It Together is a call to action, encouraging everyone to work together with The Drinks Trust to support drinks hospitality colleagues. We have a fundraising goal of £1 million which will help us to ensure everyone in our community has somewhere to turn in their hour of need.

The Face It Together campaign is designed to reinforce the message that no effort is too small. By bringing together individuals, businesses and key stakeholders, we can achieve more. For the real combined power of our efforts is our unique industry alchemy that transforms each individual contribution into our collective force for widespread good. This is why we all love this industry and why I am so proud to be part of it.

As an industry we are exceptionally good at standing united through thick and thin. When one of us is down, the rest rally to help, forging a brighter future for all.

Together we can truly make the difference.

Why are you launching this initiative now?

The Drinks Trust has been experiencing increasing requests for support every year since 2019, and 2024 was no exception, with a 56% uplift in applications for help from those in severe need for our financial, wellbeing, and training support services.

Looking ahead, we know that 2025 and beyond are going to be some of the most challenging years yet for our colleagues. Financial resilience for those working in our sector is already low, as savings were wiped out by Covid and the subsequential cost of living and energy crises. And we are all aware of the far-reaching impact of the October budget.

The Budget’s measures, along with the loss of business rate relief, will raise the cost of running a business and employing staff. We know the net effect, is that these businesses will be forced to implement cost-cutting measures wherever possible, which will include reducing staffing levels by limiting shifts, unavoidable redundancies and freezing new hire.

Over half of our applicants for financial support are employed but still struggle to meet basic household expenses at some point in the year. The impact of the budget will be devastating, as those who are already forced to make tough choices about essential needs risk falling even deeper into poverty.

Face It Together raises awareness of these financial vulnerabilities. The campaign conveys the message that professionals from any part of our industry, from point of production to point of sale, can encounter financial and emotional issues at any time in their career, and that they can strike unexpectedly with terrible consequences.

The Drinks Trust ambition is to ensure that no cry is unanswered, and no colleague has to face these problems alone.

How are you looking to raise the money?

There are three main ways we are encouraging companies, organisations and individuals to support the campaign.

Pledge a business donation: this will demonstrate the business’ charitable commitment to the industry, and to improving the lives of your colleagues and your customers to thousands of industry peers and stakeholders through visible association with the campaign
Organise a fundraising event: this will build loyalty and team bonding by engaging your team, customers, or local community to organise events such as pub quizzes, cocktail masterclasses, or charity tastings to raise funds and awareness.
Make a donation: Contribute directly to the campaign and help provide essential support.

To give a context to the impact of donations:

£1,000: provides 14 counselling sessions

£5,000” helps 10 people in immediate crisis to buy food or clothing for their children

£20,000: supports 40 people in severe financial hardship to pay pressing rental or energy bills.

£30,000: covers the cost of our Supportline providing a manager’s advice line, legal support financial and debt advice for a whole year.

How can businesses and individuals support the campaign?

Other ways the campaign could be supported are in addition to the ones early mentioned:

Activate Team Charity Days: One day can make a huge difference. Organise a Christmas jumper day, summer beach party, bake a cake sale or a team fitness challenge by activating the time your colleagues can use to do charitable work.

Take on a Personal Challenge: From sponsored walks to endurance challenges, we can all create our own fundraising initiatives and rally support from friends and family.

Raise Money through Sales: Create limited-edition products with a percentage of proceeds going to the campaign (e.g., co-branded products, glasses, merchandise, sportswear, etc). Promote your support of the charity and enjoy sales uplift as a result.

Donate items: Donate items, experiences or valuable stock to our auction or one of our events and become a sponsor to increase visibility to key industry stakeholders.

Matching Donations: Match funds raised or money donated by your team or your wider network. Donation matching doubles the amount we raise and has the benefit of increasing your visibility to thousands of key industry stakeholders, but it has also been proven to be the single more effective catalyst to increase individual contributions.

This is the official website of the campaign where supporters can pledge their support or have inspirations on how to get involved: https://www.faceittogether.org.uk

By visiting the website, companies can find ideas on how they can support the campaign, they could order the official marketing materials of the campaign and much more I’m not allowed to disclose just now..

What specific support packages and services do you hope to be able to offer through the campaign?

The campaign was conceived to allow us to raise the very ambitious amount of £1m to ensure that we meet rising demand across all our services so that no cry for help is unanswered.

The Drinks Trust has the most comprehensive range of support for our colleagues, which means that we can support professionals more holistically, taking them on a journey to recovery and help them to improve their circumstances for the long term.

We provide financial assistance, supporting colleagues in crisis with an immediate response. The service includes one-off grants to buy white goods and food, as well as cover energy bills, council tax, or rent arrears. In some severe cases, and with the help of partners like the Wine Trade Sports Club Foundation, we provide monthly grants to those most in need for a six or 12-month period (although we are purposefully decreasing this method).

We also provide emotional support led by our Support line, which is open 24 hours, seven days a week, which can be accessed by calling, emailing or sending a WhatsApp. The services that the Support line offers include:

Immediate “in the moment” counselling.
1:1 financial advice.
1:1 debt advice.
1:1 parenting advice.
Consumer advice.
Legal advice.
Managers’ advice line.
Triage to Counselling services, CBT, Mindful Drinking courses.

And finally, having provided help on the immediate crisis and support towards restoring emotional wellbeing where needed, The Drinks Trust also supports individuals experiencing hardship to progress their career and achieve financial independence.

The Develop programme works with, and for the industry by encouraging new entrants to start their career in drinks with foundational knowledge and by helping organisations to up-skill their workforce

Develop is in four parts:

Entry-level “taster” type training for people transitioning from the job market into drinks hospitality. Usually delivered together with a business partner.
Free to access online training.
Paid-for qualifications with industry-recognised providers such as WSET and IBD.
Support to find employment through partner referrals.

Which individuals are you most looking to support?

The Drinks Trust is committed to supporting drinks hospitality colleagues, past and present, in their time of need. We provide financial assistance, nurture their well-being and champion the growth of a skilled and engaged workforce. Upholding our values of respect, compassion and empowerment, we are building a healthier future for our people. If you work, have worked, or aspire to a career in the drinks hospitality industry, then we can help you.

How do they apply?

When it comes to financial assistance and our educational service Develop, beneficiaries can apply on our website to the bespoke area of interest. In doubt, they can visit this page https://www.drinkstrust.org.uk/get-help

With regards access to the well-being services, access to support is led by our 24/7 Support Line, which could be accessed either by calling 0800 9154610, emailing supportline@drinkstrust.org.uk or Whatsapping “HI” to 07418 360 780.

Can we also congratulate you on your new role and becoming chief executive - what is your response to taking on the position?

Thank you so much. I was really touched by the confidence of the team and by the words of encouragement from some of my industry peers when my appointment was announced (including yourself Richard, thank you!, and I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead the charity into the future.

There are going to be some tough challenges ahead, but I am confident that we will inspire our industry colleagues to stand united with us, and I really look forward to reaching out to partners in the coming weeks to discuss how we can come together in addressing these challenges to support our colleagues in need.

You have been working at the Trust for a while - what do you hope your personal skills and talent can bring to the role?

Since I joined The Drinks Trust in 2020, it has been an honour and a pleasure to be part of such a small but dynamic team, who have achieved so much in recent years, and it is highly rewarding to have the opportunity to give back to an industry that has been so good to me over my career.

Before this role, I was leading our service delivery, and I want to draw on my empathy and personal knowledge of our beneficiaries to always represent the people of our industry. Hardship can strike anyone, through no fault of their own, at any time and it takes immense courage to reach out for help.It is our responsibility to ensure that their voice is heard and their call for help is answered.

Ultimately, I hope to use my skills to inspire confidence in the Trust’s work, expand our network of supporters, and contribute to a lasting positive difference for individuals and businesses across the drinks industry.

But really, this role is not about my own skills, it is about working together with our incredible team. The Drinks Trust is run by six amazing people whose dedication, kindness, sense of responsibility and professionalism inspire me every day. And we are very lucky to have some amazingly well-connected patrons and hugely influential and committed trustees.

It is my aim that our passion and enthusiasm will encourage many more industry businesses and people to get involved and I am very excited about what we can achieve together.
What are your key objectives for the first year in the role?

It is my ambition that everyone who works in drinks and hospitality knows that The Drinks Trust is there for them in their hour of need, and that more colleagues and businesses from across the industry feel inspired to be part of the movement, in order to help us ensure we can always meet demand.

Lofty ambition, I know, and that won’t happen in a year! So, 2025 is about laying the foundations for that growth by ensuring that everyone we encounter is super clear about who we represent, how we help people, and what the benefits are to industry business who partner with us are.

What do you see as the Trust’s biggest challenges and how do you hope to overcome them?

The Drinks Trust faces several significant challenges in the current landscape.

Firstly, economic pressures on businesses may mean that many of our traditional supporters are navigating tighter budgets and financial uncertainties, which can impact their ability to contribute. To address this, we aim to strengthen relationships with existing partners while diversifying our fundraising efforts, including exploring new revenue streams and collaborating with new supporters.

Secondly, the challenging economic environment is driving increased demand for our services. As individuals and businesses within the drinks industry face financial and personal difficulties, the need for welfare, training, and support continues to grow. To meet this demand, we’re working to introduce innovative ways to support colleagues with more resources, enhance efficiency, and focus on partnerships that amplify our impact.

By adapting to these realities with resilience and innovation, we hope to not only overcome these challenges but also continue to provide meaningful support to the drinks hospitality community.

What are its biggest opportunities?

We are looking at innovation in our service delivery which will allow us to reach more people, more cost effectively and in a more meaningful way. It is important that we continue to understand and deliver the most important services our colleagues need and harness the latest technology available to us to stay ahead of the service delivery curve.

We want to widen the reach of our unique Develop programme which plays a pivotal role in learning and development services for businesses and individuals in our industry. With our incredible reach and contract administration services, we are already supporting excellent organisations such as WSET and Worshipful Company of Distillers in reaching those in need with educational bursary support, and helping brands reach and train industry professionals of the future.

We want any organisation who is interested in fulfilling ESG ambitions through L&D programmes to recognise that they can do so easily by engaging with The Drinks Trust.

We also have a huge opportunity with our new Business Advisory Programme, which is our industry-specific staff wellbeing support mechanism for businesses in drinks hospitality who want to mitigate losses through absenteeism and improve on their staff retention and talent attraction. This cost-effective programme has enormous potential to support businesses and individuals alike for less than the cost of 1 staff sickness per annum and is totally unique in the market.

The BAP is a collective programme, drawing together industry businesses, accredited wellbeing providers and important industry stakeholders to provide access to a library of industry-specific resources, training opportunities and sharing of best practice through our peer interaction. Together our aim is to create and uphold, gold standard practices in employee wellbeing.

I would encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about partnering with us on any of these initiatives to get in touch.

What other key events and activities do you have coming up?

We are just working on our calendar of events now, which will draw together all of the exciting events organised for us by our partners and one or two of our own initiatives as well. 2025 will see a return to a traditional gala event, bringing together industry in celebration and a combined effort to raise awareness and funds. 2025 is definitely the year we will Face It Together!

* If you want to find out more about the Face It Together campaign click here.

* If you want to find out more about The Drinks Trust and the services it provides then click here.