MAFFEO DRINKS: The Lab

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  Brodie Meah returns to dive deep into how Top Cuvée transformed neighborhood loyalty into scalable brand equity. We explore the "trust engine" concept: how Top Cuvée became the curator that removes wine selection paralysis by stamping their approval across a portfolio of producers.Brodie reveals how data analysis exposed community layers: restaurant regulars placing 100+ e-commerce orders, proving physical venues create digital customers. The conversation unpacks why natural wine terminology limits reach, how partnering with "like-minded" establishments creates compound growth, and why you must build credibility through your own channels before wholesale accepts you.From the customer who bought their t-shirt to national chains now calling, this is about scaling community without losing soul, proving you can grow from 40 covers to widespread distribution while keeping the neighborhood spirit alive.Timestamps:00:00 Community as Foundation - "Nothing Without It"02:30 Natural Wine's Niche Trap - Choosing Taste Over Ideology05:00 Building the Trust Engine - Curation as Product08:30 COVID Discovery - Cross-Channel Customer Loyalty11:15 Physical Venues as Brand Laboratories14:00 Glass by Glass - Why Trust Can't Be Rushed17:00 The T-Shirt Customer and Brand Evangelism19:30 Like-Minded Partners - Ecosystem Building22:00 Own Channels First, Then Wholesale24:30 From Local Hero to National Interest26:00 Community First, Always This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  In this second part of the conversation on MAFFEO DRINKS, host Chris Maffeo continues with Hunter Gregory, Bar Manager at Maybe Sammy in Sydney, diving into the delicate balance between technical excellence and guest experience that determines bar success. The discussion explores why bars focusing too heavily on technique without guest experience have closed in recent years, while others with great atmosphere but weak drinks programs also struggle to survive. Hunter introduces the "pie and cherry" philosophy of guest shifts. You can't have the cherry (guest shift excitement) without the pie (consistent bar quality), revealing why some bars create amazing guest shift experiences but disappoint when visited in person. We examine the backbreaking work of scaling cocktail culture person by person, teaching 15 guests about proper espresso martinis who then tell their friends, slowly building educated consumer base over years. The conversation covers bartender education expectations versus consumer reality (they don't care about cocktail history like we don't care about stock market details), menu design strategies that include twisted versions of top 10 classic cocktails people actually order, and the challenge of explaining how to order a martini properly without overwhelming guests. Hunter shares why eight or nine team members designed Maybe Sammy's new menu rather than the bar manager alone, ensuring both technical innovation and guest-focused accessibility. We explore when technique-driven approaches work (Bangkok's Burus with beef broth cocktails for ready demographics) versus when they fail (Sydney's upper-middle-class scene not ready for extreme experimentation), the role of social media in playful consumer education, and why guest shifts succeed when they create curiosity rather than just industry networking. The discussion addresses the frustration of overly technical bartenders explaining entire drink concepts when guests just want a twisted Americano, the importance of brand managers attending guest shifts they sponsor, and understanding that people seek experiences making them feel better rather than cocktail education lectures.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction: Occasions Over Demographics in Cocktail Culture03:15 Journey Through Spirits: Negroni to Boulevard to Whiskey06:40 Maybe Sammy's Clientele: Tested and Fortunate10:25 Balancing Boundary Pushing with Guest Experience14:50 Bangkok's Burus vs Sydney Demographics18:20 Consistency, Persistence & Building Regular Trust22:35 The Technique vs Experience Disconnect26:10 Scaling Cocktail Culture Person by Person29:45 How to Order a Martini: Consumer Education Challenge32:50 Guest Shifts: The Pie and Cherry Philosophy35:30 Wrap up: Creating Curiosity Through Fun and Experience This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  In this second part of the conversation on MAFFEO DRINKS, host Chris Maffeo continues the discussion with Matilda Andersson, Managing Director at Truth Consulting, diving deeper into practical frameworks and methodologies for consumer research in the drinks industry. The conversation introduces the Four Cs Framework (Consumer, Culture, Category, Company) as a holistic approach to brand strategy that moves beyond focusing solely on consumers to incorporate broader cultural shifts and company truths—revealing why culture is the most neglected element despite being critical for long-term success. We explore the dangers of drinks industry echo chambers where brands become too geeky about serves and specifications while missing how consumers actually behave. Matilda shares insights on customer closeness programs that take design teams and brand managers out of offices to meet real customers in their natural environments. The discussion examines whether passion for the category matters for drinks professionals, the tension between short-term KPIs and long-term vision, and the challenge of bridging qualitative gut-feel insights with rigorous research methodologies. We address what makes research genuinely useful versus a bureaucratic chore, emphasizing honesty, collaboration, and actionable insights over data dumping. The conversation reveals how brands can stay relevant across multiple generations without alienating existing customers, focusing on cultural connection points rather than manufactured demographic differences.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction: Making Brands Relevant Across Generations02:45 - The Four Cs Framework: Consumer, Culture, Category, Company07:20 - Culture as the Most Neglected Element in Strategy10:50 - Settling Arguments: When Research Briefs Have Hidden Agendas14:30 - Category Myopia in Drinks Industry18:40 - The Geek Problem: Serves, Specifications & Echo Chambers23:15 - Customer Closeness Programs: Taking Teams to Meet Real People27:50 - Does Passion for Category Matter for Drinks Professionals?31:20 - KPIs, Short-Termism & Fear of the Future34:45 - Bridging Gut-Feel Insights with Rigorous Research37:30 - What Makes Research Useful: Honesty & Collaboration40:15 - Wrap-up: Participation, Co-creation & Breaking Down Walls This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  Mark Ward, founder of Regal Rogue, joins for a conversation validating bottom-up principles through 15 years of vermouth brand building. The discussion explores the actual mechanics of turning one account into ten, ten into a hundred, and the behavior that happens in between those numbers.The conversation challenges common misconceptions about bottom-up building: it's not about being small, building slowly, or lacking ambition. It's about the specific actions required to convert relationships, the constant auditing of whether your message connects with buyers, and understanding that past success guarantees nothing about future performance. Through examples spanning Seedlip's category creation, Diageo's Distilled Ventures program, CÎROC's P Diddy turnaround, and Regal Rogue's 15-year journey to simplifying their serves down to three drinks, the discussion reveals how the nuances of brand building remain fundamentally different across environments. What worked in 2011 operates differently in 2026, and expertise from one launch doesn't translate automatically to the next.The conversation establishes that bottom-up isn't a "small brand" strategy. It's the behavior required at any scale when building genuine relationships and advocacy, whether you're at 1,000 nine liters or 1,000,000 nine liters. The critical work involves constant checking that what you think you're saying actually connects with what buyers hear, because the gap between brand intention and market perception determines everything.Timestamps00:00 Introduction and Greetings00:40 Discussing Bottom-Up Mentality01:51 Challenges in Building a Brand03:57 Realizations and Reflections05:34 Simplifying the Brand Message08:09 Insights on Craft Brands and Big Brands12:55 Principles of Brand Building22:37 Consistency in Brand Messaging31:55 Conclusion and Final Thoughts This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

Steve Grasse, founder of Quaker City Mercantile and Tamworth Distillery, brand-builder behind Hendrick's Gin and creator of Pathfinder. He diagnoses a 'Spirits Apocalypse' from overproduction and fading craft novelty. He stresses brand fundamentals and measured local expansion. He champions rapid, sales-driven experimentation and new-to-world RTD innovation as the path forward.

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  Eric Franco, a former SABMiller colleague, recently Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Brewdog USA and entrepreneur who started as a bar owner, joins for a discussion validating core bottom-up principles through battlefield experience.Working long days running his own bar before selling for global brands, the conversation confirms what becomes clear through market observation: everyone agrees on bottom-up methodology in theory, but execution fails when immediate gratification culture, social media distortion, and funding pressure collide with foundational discipline.The discussion explores patterns visible across markets: brands hiring VPs before mastering founder-led selling, Target distribution forcing unsustainable multi-state expansion, and burning retail relationships in concentrated markets.Eric's owner-operator perspective adds depth to the systematic approach to channel selection, geographic expansion, and the three-year foundation period required before authentic scaling becomes possible. ​Timestamps00:00 Introduction and Catching Up01:11 Defining 'Bottom Up' in Brand Building04:36 Challenges in Brand Growth and Market Expectations09:41 The Importance of Local Market Mastery15:16 Balancing Big Opportunities with Realistic Growth32:02 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  Robert Simonson, author of seven cocktail books including "A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World," joins to discuss how the modern cocktail revival actually happened.This conversation explores how dead crafts come back to life through individuals rather than institutions, why certain innovations spread while others stay local, and the challenge of documenting history while participants are still alive. Simonson spent 18 months interviewing over 200 people across multiple continents to map how a small group of obsessives rebuilt an entire profession from scratch. The discussion reveals patterns about how quality movements emerge, scale, and risk being forgotten by the next generation.Timestamps00:00 Introduction and Welcome00:26 Discussing 'A Proper Drink'02:47 The Cocktail Renaissance05:07 Global Influence and Cross-Pollination12:23 Modern Classic Cocktails23:22 Local Influences on Cocktails32:37 Conclusion and Final Thoughts This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  Steve Perez reveals how he bootstrapped Global Brands (Owner of VK Vodka Kick and Franklin & Sons) from £200k to £65 million in four years without giving away equity. Starting with zero salary while working nights as a waiter, he funded growth by convincing suppliers to extend £100k monthly credit through radical transparency. His philosophy: "Your business is your soul, your heart. Don't give it away too easily."From his 400-acre farm supplying beef to his hotels, to using venues as R&D labs for drinks innovation, Steve's vertical integration proves you don't need London to build global brands. With 400 employees including three-generation families, he explains what rally driving taught him the about business:Timestamps:00:00 Welcome and Introduction00:47 Steve Perez: From Rally Driver to Businessman02:26 The Beginnings of a Business Empire05:40 Overcoming Early Business Challenges08:29 The Rise of VK Vodka Kick16:17 Bootstrapping and Supplier Relationships22:33 The Perks of the Drinks Business22:59 Building a Lasting Business Legacy24:27 Family Business Dynamics28:32 The Importance of Delegation32:29 Navigating Risks and Trends37:31 Vertical Integration and Local Impact41:20 The Benefits of Smaller Cities43:20 Conclusion and Contact Information This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  The family had been making wine in the Chablis region for 35 years. Looking at that grape pomace every harvest, Alex Watson saw what everyone else missed: repurposing it making Gin.In this conversation, Alex (who co-founded Renais with his sister Emma Watson) reveals the counterintuitive path from London's most exclusive cocktail bars to Waitrose shelves and why both require completely different strategies for the same gin.We dig into:• Why prestigious bars that love you most often move the least volume• The unexpected channel that actually builds premium brands• How wine sommeliers became his secret weapon in Michelin restaurants• The Instagram strategy that works when you're "naturally private"• Why he leads with flavor, never sustainability (even though the sustainability story is incredible)• The specific moment he knew the traditional gin playbook was brokenThis isn't about choosing between credibility and volume. It's about something more interesting.Listen to find out what.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction: The grape distillation opportunity02:30 Renais origin story: From Chablis winemaking to spirits05:45 Leading with flavor over sustainability in brand messaging08:15 Provenance, terroir, and wine culture in spirits storytelling12:20 B Corp certification and circular economy positioning15:45 Building early credibility account by account in London19:30 The role of bartender advocacy in brand building26:15 Social media approach for naturally private founders28:40 Scaling from independent bars to national restaurant chains32:10 Drink strategy differences: Martinis vs spritzes by venue type35:20 Navigating serve complexity across different bartender skill levels38:25 Hybridization of hospitality venues and menu evolution40:15 Premium positioning strategy: Ultra-premium gin challenges42:50 Market agility and testing new initiatives at consumer events This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

Welcome to MAFFEO DRINKS. For many years, I've been known as the "built bottom-up" guy. But many people misunderstand what bottom-up actually means. Bottom-up means building at a pace that doesn't jeopardize your future. Doing the right things on the ground while managing expectations from above.That's it. It doesn't matter if your brand is small or big. It's a mindset.I'm Chris Maffeo, Drinks Leadership Advisor. 20 years in drinks across 30+ markets. I've been in the boardroom but chose to stay connected to the field. That's where I founded MAFFEO DRINKS.We help drinks leadership bridge the gap between bottom-up reality and top-down expectations. Stakeholders want numbers. Your team wants direction. You are caught in the middle. And that's where we come in.This podcast is about honest conversations with drinks builders: founders, distributors, commercial directors, CEOs, F&B directors. But this isn't a show about biographies. Every guest is here to show their thinking, not their resume.We talk commercial strategy, route-to-market, distributor relationships, trade marketing, and all the plumbing of brand building that nobody discusses on stage. How the industry actually works, not the conference version. How to master the unscalable things while building scale.Beyond the podcast, we offer Bottom-Up Intel & Principles: episode deep dives that you can buy for a monthly subscription (Patterns from drinks builders for the leaders building with them).And for leadership teams who want a thought partner who has been in their chair and still walks the field, we offer advisory.Find out more at maffeodrinks.com.And remember that brands are built bottom-up.