Vapoura, the super-premium English rum distilled, matured and bottled entirely in England, has been awarded B Corp certification with a score of 91. The certification makes Vapoura one of just 68 B Corp-certified alcohol brands headquartered in the UK[1].
B Corp certification is awarded by the non-profit B Lab and measures a company’s performance across five key areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. The global median score for all businesses assessed by B Lab is 50.9, with 80 the minimum threshold required for certification.
Vapoura places emphasis on the principle that a genuine craft English rum should put people and planet at front and centre and not as an afterthought. Since launching in 2024, the brand has embedded that thinking into how it operates: designing its production processes to minimise water and energy waste, partnering with local farms to repurpose spent grain and raw materials as compost and cattle feed and using glass made predominantly from recycled bottles. The company is also progressing plans to install wind turbines with the potential to power the majority of its production through renewable energy.
Co-founder Olly Barkley said: “We’ve always believed that being a genuine craft brand means more than what goes into the bottle. If you’re going to care about how something is made you have to care about the impact of making it. That’s not separate to the craft, it’s part of it. B Corp holds us to account on that and we’re proud the score reflects how we’ve chosen to build this business from day one.”
Vapoura was founded by Olly Barkley, a former professional athlete turned entrepreneur, and Ed Jackson, a Sunday Times bestselling author, adventurer and broadcaster who rebuilt his life after a catastrophic spinal injury in 2017. The pair co-founded the Millimetres 2 Mountains Foundation together in 2017 before launching Vapoura in 2024.
Vapoura produces its rum entirely in England, carefully selecting the molasses blend and yeast strain prior to fermentation, distillation and cask maturation, without importing bulk spirit or blending rums from other countries. The portfolio comprises two expressions: Chapter One (Spiced, 38% ABV, RRP £45) and Chapter Two (Gold, 42% ABV, RRP £50).
