Modern Slavery Statement

Financial year ended 31 December 2025   |   Published 30 June 2026

The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 50 million people around the world are trapped in modern slavery. Some of them are working in supply chains just like ours. This statement sets out what we're doing about it.

It is made in accordance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Who We Are

We're Brothers Drinks Co. Limited, a beverage manufacturer and contract bottler, home of Brothers Cider, based in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. We've been making drinks here for over 30 years and we employ around 350 people.

Our ambition is to build a business where people feel genuinely valued, performance is recognised, and we grow together. Our mission is to deliver a better future, with precision in every process and excellence in every outcome. Underpinning everything we do are four behaviours that define what good looks like for all of us, every single day:

We care and welcome all: everyone belongs here, and we look out for one another.
We work as ONE Team: we collaborate, support each other, and win together.
We perform at our best: we bring energy, drive, and high standards to everything we do.
We lead by example: we hold ourselves to the same standards we expect of others.

We aim to be an organisation where people feel they belong, a place where people feel valued, grow together and build excellence every day. We want our inclusive culture to drive innovation and performance, creating a trusted and successful business that our teams, customers and communities admire and support.

We work with a wide range of suppliers and contractors to source ingredients, packaging, equipment and services and we take responsibility for what goes on in that supply chain.

Our Supply Chain

Our suppliers fall into two main categories:

Direct Goods:

  • Tier 1 - Raw material processors
  • Tier 2 - Bespoke flavour and ingredient processors
  • Packaging manufacturers — Primary, Secondary, Tertiary.

Indirect:

  • Capital equipment, engineering consumables and maintenance suppliers
  • Logistics and distribution partners
  • Energy and utilities providers
  • Site and facilities services contractors
  • Recruitment agencies, where used
  • Professional and marketing services

We're not naive about the risks. Seasonal agricultural work, certain overseas manufacturing, and agency labour are all areas where modern slavery is more likely to hide. Those are the areas we focus on.

Our Policies

We have a set of policies that back up our commitment to tackling modern slavery:

  • Our Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Policy (EPOL02), which governs how we operate day to day
  • Our Whistleblowing Policy (EPOL03) so that anyone, including suppliers, can raise a concern without fear
  • Our Anti-Corruption, Bribery & Fraud Policy (P21)
  • Our Supplier Code of Conduct — which every supplier must sign up to as a condition of working with us
  • Any of these are available on request, just email HRSupport@BrothersDrinks.co.uk

Where We Think the Risks Are

We look at our supply chain every year and ask ourselves: where could modern slavery be hiding? 

We look at things like:

  • Which countries our suppliers operate in, and what the modern slavery risk is there
  • Which sectors carry the most risk, agriculture, manufacturing and logistics all feature
  • Whether we're using agency or seasonal workers, and what protections are in place for them
  • How many layers there are between us and the original source of an ingredient or material

Right now, our four biggest areas of concern are:

  • Seasonal workers picking and processing fruit in our supply chain
  • Factories making our packaging and preservatives/sweeteners in the UK and other parts of the world
  • Agency workers on our production site in Somerset
  • Our logistics up and downstream, which can involve multiple contractors

That's where we put most of our effort.

What We Actually Do

In our own business
We want to make sure that everyone working for Brothers Drinks is here by choice and treated fairly. That means:

  • Everyone gets their contract and terms in writing before they start
  • We check that every person has the right to work in the UK
  • Pay goes straight into people's own bank accounts, never to a third party
  • We never charge workers a fee to get a job with us
  • We don't hold onto anyone's passport or identity documents
  • We only use recruitment agencies that can show they follow employment law
  • People are free to leave, we don't restrict anyone's movement or ability to resign

With our suppliers
When we bring a new supplier on board:

  • They fill in a questionnaire about how they treat their workers
  • We look at modern slavery risk before we sign a contract
  • Suppliers we consider higher risk get looked at more closely
  • We verify new suppliers against Companies House, VAT and HMRC records, or their overseas equivalent, before we work with them 
  • Where we can, we prefer UK-based suppliers, particularly for key ingredients
  • Every contract includes a clause requiring compliance with modern slavery law
  • Labour providers in our agricultural and fruit supply chains must hold a valid Fair Work Agency gangmaster's licence.
  • Suppliers must have their own policies in place to tackle modern slavery

Once they're working with us:

  • We review supplier performance regularly
  • We visit key suppliers on site where we can
  • We're introducing annual written compliance declarations from suppliers, starting in 2026 
  • We can request an audit of any supplier's site if we have concerns

If something goes wrong:

  • We look into it straight away
  • We work with the supplier to put things right where we can
  • If they won't fix it, we stop working with them
  • If we suspect a crime, we report it to the authorities

Training

We want our people to know what to look out for. We're building our training programme — modern slavery awareness is being added to our induction for all new starters, and our priority for 2026 is to roll this out to existing staff and provide more detailed training for managers and anyone involved in recruitment and procurement.

The signs

We train people to spot someone who seems frightened or reluctant to speak for themselves; a person whose wages are being paid to someone else; workers with no ID documents or personal belongings; signs of physical or psychological harm; and anyone who doesn't seem free to come and go.

If you see any of those signs, we want to hear about it.

How to Raise a Concern

If you think something isn't right — whether you work for us, work with us, or just know something, please speak up.

  • Talk to your line manager or contact HR: HRSupport@BrothersDrinks.co.uk
  • Use our anonymous whistleblowing process (EPOL03), available on request
  • Call the Modern Slavery Helpline: 08000 121 700, it's free, confidential and available 24/7
  • Call the police on 999 (emergency) or 101 (non-emergency)

Nobody will face any negative consequences for raising a genuine concern. That's a promise, and it's also the law.

How We Know It’s Working

We are at an early stage in our modern slavery training.  Whilst formal training was not delivered to the wider workforce during 2025, we are updating our induction to include modern slavery awareness for all new employees.  Our priority for 2026 is to extend this to existing staff and to provide enhanced role specific training for all manager and those involved in recruitment and procurement.

We recognise that supplier due diligence is an area for development.  As at the date of this statement, we have introduced a Supplier Code of Conduct (2026), setting out our expectations of suppliers which includes modern slavery, labour standards and ethical conduct.  During 2026 we intend to build on this by developing supplier monitoring and where appropriate audits or site visits 

Going forward we will track whether our approach is actually working, and will report on these measures each year:

  • Completion of modern slavery training across the business
  • The percentage of suppliers who have signed our Supplier Code of Conduct and returned their annual compliance declarations
  • The number of supplier risk assessments, site visits and audits completed
  • The number of concerns raised, and how quickly and thoroughly we dealt with them

What's Next

We're not done. Here's what we're working on:

  • Continuing to map our supply chain further down the tiers
  • Strengthening the questions we ask new suppliers
  • Keeping up annual compliance checks with existing suppliers
  • Making sure our training stays current and reaches everyone it needs to

This statement has been approved by the Board of Directors of Brothers Drinks Co. Limited in accordance with section 54(6)(a) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Publication details
Financial year covered: Year ended 31 December 2025
Statement published: 30 June 2026
Next statement due: By 30 June 2027

This statement is published on our website at brothersdrinks.co.uk and submitted to the UK Government's Modern Slavery Statement Registry.