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There is a custom that links the millennial with the ancestral in the Osborne family. Every time one of its members consumes a product from the house, it publishes the photograph of the event on their social networks. Not on Fecabook or Instagram, but on its own application , the Osborne meeting point, where its more than 300 members converge with a common passion: the products that bear their surname.

The Osborne group was founded in 1772 when the English businessman Thomas Osborne Mann bought a series of Denomination of Origin Jerez wineries in Puerto de Santa María. Then began a business adventure that almost 250 years later is still in the hands of the Osbornes. Eight generations making wine and being part of the history of Spain. Because in 1956, the result of an advertising campaign, they filled the roads of Spain with steel fences with the silhouette of a bull. They were 14 meters tall and 5,000 tons of a colossal figure.

Ignacio Osborne has never climbed the bulls that are attached to the highways, although in his youth he did reach the top of the one they have on the Malpica de Tajo estate, where they make their Solaz wines and others from Castilla la Mancha. He is the current president of the Osborne Group, head of the family of the eighth generation and responsible for overcoming the covid crisis, which partly frustrates his growth plans. After two years of losses, in 2019 they closed the year with 222 million euros in sales, four more than in 2018. In addition, they employ 1,094 people and on their shareholders' meeting there are 300 members named Osborne, all descendants of that Englishman who arrived in Cádiz. "There are basically two factors that have helped us to reach the eighth generation: putting the business before family interests and anticipation", explains Ignacio in conversation with LOC.

In a country where only 10% of companies survive the third generation, having a clear protocol for the entry of family members seems the key to winning at the same time. In the case of the Osbornes, most are in the company as shareholders , while the few who work on a day-to-day basis go through a selection process. "Family members can only work in the company after approval by the board. The last two family members who have joined have done so after passing a selection process carried out by a head hunter," continues the president of Grupo Osborne.

Thomas Mann, the founder

In order for the rest of the family to have a sense of belonging, they carry out an initiative called Accionistas en Acción. "It organizes events, talks by the professionals behind our brands, cocktail making workshops, ham cutting, tastings, etc. The younger generations really enjoy and show great interest in everything related to the company. And of course they are the informal meetings that we have throughout the year and the Shareholders' Meeting, where after approving the accounts and discussing business issues, we have a meal where we share time and good times as a family, "he explains.

Ignacio Osborne likes to start these meetings with a glass of Fino Quinta and a plate of ham, since the Osbornes, in addition to their wines, sell Iberian and spirits . Although the first tasting of his hams is left to Cinco Jotas' master caladores, Ignacio confesses that he often eats a bread muffin with the group's ham for breakfast.

The Osbornes also sell spirits that have become as popular in Spain as their bull. Perhaps the most famous is anise. "Who has not sung Christmas carols accompanied by the sounds of a bottle of Anís del Mono when touched with a knife or something metallic? The diamond shape of the bottle has become an icon, and precisely this year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the brand, "he explains.

The president is a consumer of all the Osborne group products -two Iberian brands, eight wines and 25 different types of spirits- , but confesses that in these hot days he opts for "a good Brandy with tonic."

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