What is Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing?
Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing was founded by Matty Dixon and launched in July 2021 as a beer company producing a range of beers from alcohol free to session strength to full strength. It is founded on three values (inclusivity, community and sustainability) and with a mission of creating opportunities for people with physical and/or neurological diversity who struggle for work. Since launch the company has won over 35 international beer awards, including Great Taste, and founder Matty was nominated for British Guild of Beer Writer’s Brewer of the Year 2023.
How has the journey gone?
We are still standing, which is nice! It has been brutal in all honesty. The mental strain is like nothing else I have ever experienced. From the constant questioning of your decisions to at one point going through about 12 months of experiencing hives caused by stress. I have made a lot of mistakes but have tried to learn from each one which I believe now stands me in a good position to make the company successful and ultimately achieve our overall mission of employing folks who struggle for work because of physical and/or neurological diversity.
That sounds pretty doom and gloom, but I am filled with a lot of hope. For a few reasons my wife and I relocated from London to Stirling in 2023 and took the company with us. This move has rejuvenated the mission, helped me refocus on the overall goal and enjoy brewing different beers for customers. And that is what keeps me going, been able to pop to Leeds International Beer Festival each year and have people’s faces light up when they enjoy a session strength beer with a depth of flavour and experience, they don’t expect keeps me motivated that I am onto something with the company and therefore on the right track to being the employer I would like to be.
One thing I would do differently would be to have a cofounder. Doing all of this by yourself is incredibly difficult. Any founder will tell you it is never solo, you are relying on friends and family at the start but eventually that isn’t feasible and at that point it is usually when you need the most help!
I tried hiring people but sadly I made a lot of mistakes in my previous hiring and learnt some painful lessons. I own these but they cost me a huge amount of money and time and did not have the impact I had hoped in terms of pushing the business forwards towards sustainability. And this ultimately had a big impact on the overall performance and in many ways my own confidence. It is a very difficult thing to look in the mirror knowing your decisions have brought you to a painful point where survival is now on the line.
What do you wish you knew before starting?
Sales are incredibly difficult… I wish I had known just how hard it is to come into a sector cold with no network and sell your product. It seems ridiculous to write this as I think so many people will read this and think ‘well, yeah obviously you moron!’. In my naivety I thought that if I had a great product and ethos I believed in (that hopefully others would think is awesome) then getting on the taps of several pubs regularly and the fridges of bottle shops would be easy. This is not that case, even getting fans in small pub chains doesn’t mean you will succeed in a sale. Sales have been a constant battle, I think I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel as it were but getting here has been some journey!
The journey so far has taught me so much and have a large amount of hope that Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing will become the go to session beer of the UK and be able to employ folks with physical and/or neurological diversity. All I need to do is keep grinding.
And get better at sales!
