A Gwynedd wine merchant has harnessed AI to fuel record sales.

Dylan and Llinos Rowlands launched Gwin Dylanwad in Dolgellau in 2014.

They revealed the secrets of their success at a social media masterclass organised through Gwynedd Council project, Dyfodol Digidol (Digital Future).

The project, funded by the Gwynedd Shared Prosperity Fund, is available free to businesses in Gwynedd.

Companies get one-to-one mentoring sessions from a digital expert and can choose different training workshops to help them grow and prosper, create employment and halt the tide of rural depopulation with youngsters moving away for work.

Llinos said: “Just running a wine merchant’s in Dolgellau would not be feasible but because we supply restaurants, cafes and hotels it works.

“We have always used the internet as a marketing tool, enabling us to reach a much wider clientele but we have expanded online sales through social media.

“We have a presence on Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok and the guidance we’ve received from the project has been invaluable.

“Our January sales were up 16 per cent on last year and every month since has shown an increase.

“Because we import our own wines, a lot of them from Europe, if someone has had one of our bottles and enjoyed it in a restaurant they can find it on our website.

“We have a strong presence on social media and we have learned that if you try and sell your goods there you won’t get far but if you concentrate on brand recognition then that works and will drive people to your website.

“We write a blog and that is quite a challenge but AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a big help – I visited a Canadian vineyard last year and asked AI to write five paragraphs on Canadian ice wine and I added my input and it worked very well.

“It’s also important to train your staff. We send ours on vineyard visits and it does cost but when you listen to them talking to our customers about wine they really do pay for themselves.

“We are on a journey and I’m happy to help people but we’re also looking for help ourselves and that’s where the project has made a big difference. The mentors know what it’s like to run a small business and that’s important to us.”

For more information about Dyfodol Digidol contact email [email protected] or call 01248 665624.