How we eat, drink and gather keeps changing. I help brands move with it.
Nine years inside Distill Ventures, the Diageo-backed drinks accelerator. 35+ founder brands and five exits into Diageo. Now I work with scaling brands and hospitality groups who want that experience behind their marketing.
Exits into Diageo, including Ritual Zero Proof
Years in drinks and hospitality, nine of them at Distill Ventures
Founder-led drinks brands worked with
Unpaid press placements in a month for Vapoura, a scaling English rum brand
Brands, categories and exits.
Five exits into Diageo
Comms for five acquisitions into Diageo, including Ritual Zero Proof, Seedlip, Mr Black and Belsazar. Announcements, press and the founder story behind each deal.
Building the category
IWSR research, white papers and a film series on non-alc and New World whisky. DV went on to invest £50M+ in non-alc.
A rum, launched on vinyl
A hotel partnership with The Mandrake, a launch event, a six-track pressing and a competition. Live three weeks after I joined. Nine unpaid press placements in a month.
The Pre-Accelerator
$10M into 20+ brands from underrepresented founders, marketed with Founderland, Foundervine and Soho House.
Three ways I help.
Brand and launch
Positioning, launch plans and the campaign that gets a good bottle found.
- Brand positioning and tone of voice
- Launch and campaign planning
- Partnerships and events
Press and category
The story the trade repeats after you. Built for raises, launches and exits.
- PR strategy and press moments
- White papers and category research
- Investment and acquisition comms
Drinks on the bench
Senior drinks know-how on your pitch or account, without the full-time hire.
- Pitch strategy for drinks clients
- Category and trade insight
- Senior cover on live accounts
The founders I built with.
I did my research, and they just kept coming up. By the time I reached out, it felt like a natural fit. For an early founder, that kind of visibility and credibility made all the difference.
Their reputation in the industry was unmatched, and it was clear they had earned real trust from founders. That gave us the confidence that they were the right partner.
Seedlip·Ritual Zero Proof·Mr Black·Belsazar·Kanosuke·The Mandrake·Daylesford·Public House Group·Soho House
I’ve sat on both sides of the table. The investor finding the brands to back, and the brand lead making one work.
I started behind a bar, moved into events, then spent nine years at Distill Ventures, going from first Brand Manager to Director. Most recently I led brand at Vapoura, an English rum. American, nearly twenty years in London, and happiest when the brief is a small brand with a big idea.
Got a brand worth finding?
Bring the brief, the bottle, or just the problem. Scaling brands and hospitality groups, project or fractional.