Building a successful spirits brand happens in a series of distinct phases, each demanding different strategies, resources, and mindsets, and the brands that thrive are those that recognize which stage they’re in and what that stage requires. These Bar Convent Berlin sessions offer invaluable guidance for navigating the complex path from startup to scale. For brands of any scale, these lessons from operators who’ve successfully navigated each phase will help make smarter decisions about where to invest, how to expand, and when to be bold.
Navigating the Stages of Beverage Brand Growth
At Bar Convent Berlin, Karim Fadl, Key Account Manager at Thomas Henry, shares his 15 years of expertise in building brand advocacy and beverage brand growth. Using the “Ready, Fire, Aim” framework, Karim breaks down the critical stages of a brand’s life from proving market fit in the “infancy” stage (under $1M) to the “breakout” stage where investing in people and regional expansion becomes the primary driver of growth.
Scaling Spirits with Global Travel Retail
Vincent Hanna, CEO and Co-Founder of Brother’s Bond Distilling Company, shares why Global Travel Retail (GTR) is the most efficient bridge for emerging spirits to reach a worldwide audience. Vincent explores how airports offer unparalleled visibility to over 8.5 billion people. We dive into the data behind the $43 billion GTR market, the specific growth potential in the Asia Pacific region, and how duty-free sales help brands bypass complex international tariffs.
Grappa’s Future in Mixology
Antonella Nonino, Managing Director of Nonino Distillatori, touches on Grappa’s future in mixology and shares the 125-year journey of her family’s distillery and the 1973 revolution that introduced Monovitigno Grappa to the world. Antonella discusses the importance of artisanal methods, creative collaboration with world-class bartenders like Simone Caporale and Monica Berg, and why the future of Italian spirits lies in “being brave” with traditional ingredients.
Navigating the Stages of Beverage Brand Growth Transcipt
Karim Fadl (0:03)
My name is Karim. As already mentioned, I’ve now been working for five days as the key account manager for a brand I really love and adore called Thomas Henry — a mixer brand born and raised here in Berlin, like myself. For the last 15 years, I’ve dedicated my professional life to various roles: building advocacy for large corporates, building small startup brands mainly within Europe, and for the last four years, I was responsible for building new incubation brands for a small company called Moët Hennessy.
What I wanted to touch on is that I’ve had the privilege of working with small brands in boutique, craft, and niche categories like Cachaça, Pisco, and Pulque — as well as with big brands sitting within large corporate structures. What’s very interesting to me is that the main challenges and opportunities tend to be pretty similar in terms of what you can do and how you can actually thrive.
A book that really helped me shape my thinking about what’s needed at certain stages of a brand’s life is Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson. He structured the life cycle of a brand according to revenue, sales volume, and internal team size. He divided it into stages: infancy, up to one million in revenue, is really about proving that your product has market fit and that you’re needed in this world. Up to ten million is about making sure you understand who your customer is, that you have a great sales pitch, and that you’re optimizing that. Stage three is about expanding not only your product but also your people and your markets and regions. And the fourth stage is where we all want to be — it’s the Hennessy’s and Belvedières of this world, where you have a global brand, global recognition, and broad consumer appeal. That’s where you ultimately want to be — though it also comes with the challenge of keeping momentum, speaking to the consumer, and re-engaging your brand values.
Karim Fadl (1:49)
Within that first stage, where it’s really about making sure your product makes sense in the world, it helps to keep your organizational structure lean. Better margins and healthier finances fuel the growth that’s needed. The second thing I’ve observed from many founders I’ve spoken with is that if they don’t spend enough time and attention on sales — actually learning who their customer is and building at the distribution level — it’s not enough to just look good.
This is why brand assets, for me, are really about making sure you communicate directly to your customer, making it relevant and practical: what you actually are, and especially how the customer or consumer should use you. The two pivotal parts for me have been physical availability — expanding your distribution, building a sales pitch that’s relevant and helps the customer understand how to use you, and establishing a clear route to market — and mental availability, which is about making sure the customer understands what you are. Talk about your brand benefits, not features. A feature is “I’m a charcoal-filtered vodka.” A benefit is “that’s why I’m smoother on the palate.”
I spoke with a bar just yesterday — one that recently won best bar in Germany — who genuinely tries to support small brands. But they told me that some brand owners are difficult to reach, difficult to get product from. If there’s too much friction, it’s difficult to build a brand and drive depletion. So: establish a clear route to market. In some markets it’s more direct, like Italy. In others it tends to be more indirect, like Germany. Either way, do a proper price and value chain calculation, because every intermediary needs their own margin. In Italy, for example, you have sales agents who also receive a commission on what you sell, and likewise with the wholesaler landscape in the UK, France, and Germany. So price and value chain analysis is critically important.
Protect your cash flow. We all love to chase shiny objects — and I’ve made that mistake myself — but especially in the beginning, you need to show that the market needs you, wants you, and pays for what you offer. Be aware of over-spending and giving too much discount to customers or consumers. You can and will use discounts tactically — I did too — but just be aware that it’s very difficult to walk back. At the same time, make sure customers can try you. Build heavily on liquid-to-lips and sampling, because people need to know and understand what you’re there for.
Karim Fadl (6:06)
One thing I wanted to highlight — because if I had a dollar for every brand owner asking me which distributor to choose, I’d almost be a millionaire — is that the question you should really be asking in the beginning is not what the distributor can do for you, but what you can offer to fuel their growth. How can you align with the distributor’s ambitions? Do you understand where their strengths and weaknesses are in the market? Do they have a sales force? Are they more on-premise driven or off-premise driven? Does your brand have a natural fit with their portfolio?
Something that helped me a great deal was mapping the distributor’s existing portfolio. If I have a contemporary vodka brand, a whiskey-focused importer is probably not the right partner, because their sales team’s attention and expertise differs from what I’m offering. Also, look for synergies. Imagine you’re a vermouth brand — why not align yourself with the gin or mezcal they’re already offering and build combined programs and activations? This approach really helped me, especially in on-premise-driven markets like the UK and Italy, to drive sales and depletion, and to double down on efforts within accounts.
Think about how you can support your partners, and make sure you — or the sales and brand development people you hire — are spending real attention in those markets. If things go well, customers like you, you stay focused on one mission with clear and consistent messaging, you will drive more revenue and achieve positive cash flow. But don’t spread too thin. This is not the time to introduce new SKUs or line extensions, as they will dilute the attention you need to put into the market. Stay precise about what you stand for, how to use your product, and the best occasions to do so.
Karim Fadl (8:34)
The second stage is when things really start to click. Distribution is growing, and this is honestly the most interesting period for me — because it’s not only about continuing to build physical distribution, but also about re-engaging your brand messaging, re-affirming what you stand for, and expanding into different markets and different accounts. This is also the moment where I would invest heavily in people. I see many brands and distributors who can’t grow because they’re too cautious about hiring. You also need to learn how to convey your brand message and positioning to others beyond yourself — it’s easy to be passionate when it’s just you, but how do you keep three, five, or ten employees on the same mission? And this is also a great time to introduce innovation and expand into different segments.
One example I want to share — and I mentioned at the start that I also worked as a collaborator with Thomas Henry — is the development of their Botanical Tonic. I was brought in as an external project lead in 2019, when gin was booming. Remember the glory days of new western-style gins? They were coming to market and the existing tonic waters and mixers weren’t a perfect match for those more expressive styles. So Thomas Henry brought me in, and we worked with a team of renowned bartenders on product development and flavor expression — one that stayed true to Thomas Henry’s values: only natural flavors, and a focus on German botanicals to reflect the brand’s DNA and its Berlin roots. After four or five years, the results still make me proud. The Botanical Tonic is now the fifth-best-selling mixer internationally, and the fourth best-selling Thomas Henry mixer on the domestic market. Innovation, done right, can lead to lasting growth and organically expand your portfolio.
Karim Fadl (10:58)
When you hit that sweet spot — expanding into different markets, re-engaging your brand, and things really start to click — you’re entering truly exciting territory. Think of how Jägermeister became big in the US, when Sidney Frank noticed that college students were embracing Jäger shots and he doubled down on that with his Jägerettes, kickstarting the entire movement. Or when Michel Roux launched Absolut Vodka in the US and recognized that the brand’s engagement with artists like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring helped build Absolut into a globally famous brand.
But here’s the key: what got you to a million in revenue and early growth will not get you further. The frugality mindset that served you in the beginning needs to give way to real investment — in people, in markets, in additional resources — to expand into different occasions and segments.
These are the two stages I’ve worked in, and I’ve had the honor of working with some truly amazing brands over the years. As for my own next chapter — I’m now five days into my role at Thomas Henry, and I’m very happy to receive your feedback and questions. And since I’m no longer working for a spirits brand, I’m very open to collaborating with any of you at a hotel bar near you. Thank you.
Scaling Spirits with Global Travel Retail Transcript
Vincent Hanna (0:03)
I’m the CEO and founder of Brothers Bond, a small bourbon company. We started about six years ago, and I’m going to talk about how we’ve evolved as an emerging brand — coming here a few years ago for the first time, not being known, not knowing where to go or what we wanted — and really moving toward international global travel retail.
Karim touched on building a brand: knowing your purpose, defining that moment, getting consumers to engage, building it together. And then, evolving further as a brand through mixology. Well, we’re going to take it a step further — into global travel retail. It’s something very exciting for us because we are living it right now. We just launched in duty-free, and it’s been an exceptional and exciting moment for us. When you think about airports or airlines, when you’re on a plane, it’s highly emotional. These are places where you’re either leaving someone or going to see someone — your emotions are running high. And there’s no better way to connect with a brand than when your emotions are running high.
Why does it matter? It matters because today, with social media, brands are already visible far beyond their own domestic market. There’s a way to get to your consumer faster than the traditional approach of picking one market at a time — whether that be Japan, Australia, or wherever. Through travel retail, you can get there faster and more efficiently, and you can still continue to tell your story.
Vincent Hanna (1:54)
I want to talk about regional market opportunities, the different categories — obviously here we’re talking about alcohol, though non-alcohol is also very significant — and the challenges. Why go to travel retail? There are a lot of challenges in domestic markets or when trying to enter a new market. Travel retail offers something different. I feel like I’m pitching travel retail, but it’s incredibly important because as emerging brands, it’s a way to truly reach a global audience without having to dedicate enormous resources to each individual market. You can then define which markets make sense for you.
Think about it: your first sip is on a long-haul flight. You order a cocktail, you try a new spirit, you discover something for the first time at 35,000 feet. Maybe you’re going on your honeymoon, maybe it’s just a business trip — but the first time you discover a brand is in the air. You land, walk into the airport, and you see it in duty-free. Those connections last forever. And it all starts with having the brand and the story. That story has to continue forever — the existence of the brand relies on that.
Here are some numbers: $43 billion in retail sales in 2024. That is a market you do not want to exclude. Every brand, at some point in their lifespan, should be tackling this. Look at the growth potential — in less than ten years, it could almost double. Now, of course, political instability, political changes, and tariffs are all things we’re dealing with. But duty-free gives you a way around many of those obstacles. You don’t face the same barriers.
And consider the sheer scale of visibility. You can reach 8.5 billion people — that’s essentially the entire planet walking through an airport at some point. You cannot find that kind of visibility anywhere else. Whether you’re a small brand in Spain or a smaller brand in Australia wanting to reach new markets but unable to afford a full US or Japan launch, travel retail offers a different path. I also think travel retail itself is realizing just how much opportunity there is in new brands. The big, established names will always be there — and there’s a reason they spend so much in travel retail, because they have a captive audience. But over the next ten to fifteen years, I believe we’re going to see a real shift toward emerging and smaller brands. People told me, “You’re crazy — you’re only five years in, what are you doing going international?” But we saw demand from other markets, and travel retail made it possible to meet that demand.
Vincent Hanna (4:51)
Cruises are another channel worth considering. Some people love cruises, some don’t, but the reality is you have a captive audience for a week — and cruise lines are genuinely open to emerging brands. A lot of people don’t realize that. You think you’re too small to go big, but that’s not true. You can go big and still be small. You can reach out, and you will be surprised by the partnerships you can build.
Look at the regional breakdown: Asia Pacific is the biggest market in duty-free — almost half of all global travel retail. If you’re an emerging brand in Europe, North America, or South America, that’s a market you absolutely want to look at. Match the consumption patterns to what you’re selling, and don’t enter a market that has no affinity for your spirit. But you can also view unfamiliar markets as an opportunity. The risk is lower in a GTR setting because you can test it first: go big in duty-free in Asia, see the reaction, identify which markets are responding, and then double down on those.
About a quarter of all duty-free business is wines and spirits. When you look at the $43 billion total, that’s a significant slice available to you — and yes, the big brands will take most of the shelf space, but the new consumer and the future consumer want something new. The more you invest in social media, the more you’ll see a reaction. What do people want to do on social media? Connect. If your brand represents a connection — an experience they had on a flight, a cruise, in an airport — they will share that story over and over again. Heavy investment in social media, combined with global travel retail, gives you an enormous opportunity that not everybody is seizing yet.
Vincent Hanna (7:03)
One of the other reasons travel retail matters for emerging brands is competition — or rather, the lack of it. In your home market, whether you’re a grappa, a tequila, or a bourbon, you’re facing a lot of competition. That’s tough. Look beyond your borders. You can find opportunities that others are less likely to pursue. Where there’s less competition, there are more results and a better chance of success.
And I always say: go out there and take the risk. You’re a brand owner already — if you started a brand, you already took that risk. Just keep living that spirit. Why now? Look at what’s happening in the world today with tariffs. Everybody’s affected — Europe going to North America, North America going to Asia, Asia coming to Europe. Everybody faces the same restrictions and obstacles. Duty-free eliminates that. You’re able to enter new markets without worrying about what tariffs are doing. You can connect with new consumers and invest in that relationship, rather than fighting to absorb extra tariffs just to keep your price competitive.
Travel retail offers a bridge for emerging brands to expand globally. But with all of this, you still have to have a story. You still have to have something unique, a storyline that continues. You’ve got to have that foundation you started with when you first built the brand — that idea that came to fruition — and you build on it. It must continue. You can’t just assume that having a bottle on a duty-free shelf is enough. Yes, you have a captive audience and fewer competing bottles next to yours, but you still have to connect with the consumer.
Vincent Hanna (8:46)
You have to spend. You have to put in the marketing. Drive consumers to know your brand. Find different ways to do it — whether that’s spending on advertising, partnering with like-minded companies, or finding creative collaborations. If you’re a sustainable product, find a sustainable partner. Don’t be fearful of partnerships. Partnerships work, especially when both partners are venturing into something new together.
And get liquid to lips. The best thing you can do is let people taste your product. If someone walks through an airport and gets to try a new tequila, bourbon, or grappa, your chances of success go up dramatically. What airports and airlines give you is a captive, emotionally engaged audience. Travelers become attached to your brand and that experience, and they become your global brand ambassadors. That story will carry on forever — and that’s what we’re all striving for: consumers who tell your story. If you’ve got a good story, a good product, and they’ve experienced it somewhere memorable, they’re going to tell that story for the rest of their lives.
So to everyone here with an emerging brand: get into GTR. It’s exciting. We’re living it right now. Your next step should be looking beyond borders. Very few emerging brands will be able to enter every market they dream of, but GTR gives you a different set of doors to open. I’m obviously a big proponent — I’m living it right now. Thank you.
Grappa’s Future in Mixology Transcript
Antonella Nonino (0:04)
Hello, everyone. It’s a great pleasure for me to be here. I want to thank Park Group and EMTT especially for this invitation. My name is Antonella Nonino. I’m part of the Nonino family, and in Italy we make Grappa Nonino — nowadays the world’s leading premium grappa, appreciated all over the world. It’s truly an honor to be here at BCB to introduce my family and our grappa.
Grappa is the traditional spirit of Italy. It was historically the spirit of countryside people, and we are based in the northeast of Italy. This is important to me because our grappa and our amaro — our bitter — represent, in a way, the place where northern Europe meets the south. You find the characteristics of both: the rigor of the north, for example in distilling grappa 100% using artisanal methods, and the warmth of the south.
We are a family business. My great-great-grandfather Orazio founded the distillery, and with me we are now in our fifth generation. But the revolution came with Giannola and Benito — my parents. When my mother joined the family, she realized that grappa was considered a poor spirit, something people didn’t want to drink on special occasions. So she and my father began experimenting — not only to improve the quality, which was already appreciated, but especially to elevate grappa to the same level as international spirits like whiskey, cognac, and vodka.
Antonella Nonino (1:11)
In 1973, they created the Grappa Monovitigno — which means single-varietal grappa. For hundreds of years, grappa had been made by distilling mixed varieties of pomace, particularly in the Alpine regions of northern Italy. My parents had the idea to distill a single variety — a monovitigno grappa — in order to bring into the spirit the distinctive characteristics of the original vine.
Little by little, we grew. And we are still, to this day, a family business — 41 people in the company, present in 85 countries. We are very proud to share our story and our products with the world. My sisters Christina and Elisabetta and I began working alongside Mama and Papa when we were very young, because in a family business you help and you work. This is probably why, through our travels abroad and our deep love for our grappa, we became curious about mixology. Just as our parents had been frustrated that grappa wasn’t being enjoyed on special occasions, we asked ourselves: why not connect with bartenders and the mixology industry, and let them discover that Grappa Nonino is a wonderful spirit that can also be the base for spectacular cocktails? That was the beginning of the first Nonino cocktail.
I remember that in 1997, for the 30th anniversary of the Monovitigno, the New York Times dedicated a wonderful article to the story of Nonino and of grappa — a spirit that had once been a humble form of sustenance for peasants, but had little by little become appreciated all over the world.
Antonella Nonino (4:32)
This is my family — my sisters Christina and Elisabetta, and Mama and Papa — here in our distillery. And this is the Grappa Picolit, which truly made a revolution in the story of grappa in Italy and in the world.
With Christina and Elisabetta, we decided it was important to enter the world of mixology — a world I find deeply fascinating. When creativity meets quality, you usually obtain something very special. In 2007, we held the first Nonino cocktail competition to find the best grappa cocktail, involving the UK Bartender Association and Bibite of Italy. Since then, we have moved forward step by step, making the mixology world more aware of grappa as an ingredient.
I remember that in 2011 we were in London — you can see it in the photos, though it feels like a very long time ago now. As Grappa Nonino, the Picolit, and the Monovitigno became more appreciated within the spirits industry, we had the opportunity to meet some truly remarkable figures in mixology. In 2008, for example, we had a very special guest at our distillery: Sam Ross. He fell in love with Amaro Nonino. A friend of his came back from Italy with a bottle of Amaro Nonino Quintessentia, and Sam created the Paper Plane — which has since become a modern classic. Being at the heart of such an iconic cocktail brought an enormous amount of awareness to Amaro Nonino, and it is now appreciated all over the world.
Antonella Nonino (7:05)
This world became more and more interesting to us. What is so fascinating is building the category for grappa within the mixology industry. As with anything, in the beginning you must first introduce the product, create awareness, and build the brand. For Christina, Elisabetta, and me, the challenge — and it remains a work in progress — is to make people in the world of mixology aware of a special product deeply linked to Italian culture, one that can be more and more interesting for the category.
In 2016, we organized a worldwide series of masterclass presentations of Grappa Nonino, and especially of cocktails made with Grappa Nonino. We remember with enormous joy when the group of Simone Caporale, Alex Kratena, Monica Berg, Ivar de Lange, and Ryan Chetiyawardana were awarded the Nonino Prize. Our family also organizes an important prize in Italy devoted to rural culture — and in many ways, all spirits are linked to rural culture. Whether you think of rum or whiskey, they always come from the earth, from fruit and grain that, through knowledge and artistry, men and women transform into wonderful spirits.
We continued with this idea of being brave and mixing grappa. Ivar de Lange has helped us enormously and remains not only a great supporter but someone who guides us on how to move forward. Monica Berg as well — this incredible woman who has helped shape our masterclasses. We organize one, for example, at Vinitaly — the most important wine fair in Italy, which we always attend — and we have started bringing mixology into that fair, because going out into Italy’s own world is a different thing entirely. Italy is a fascinating country, and mixology is growing rapidly there — over the last twenty years or so it has transformed considerably. Today, even in large retail shops, you can finally find all the tools for making cocktails at home, and young people are more and more interested in the category. This is very exciting because it’s a way to carry our story, our values, and our spirits into the future.
Antonella Nonino (10:45)
In mixology, creativity makes our grappa more alive. When you enjoy a cocktail with Grappa Nonino, you always enjoy it with people. There is always a connection — with the bartender, the bar lady, and with the person in front of you as the cocktail is being prepared. For us as Italians, and as the Nonino family, being together has always been the perfect way to enjoy our grappa and our amaro. It is always a moment of conviviality.
We enjoy very much being part of this industry more and more. So: be brave, mix grappa. I hope you will have the occasion to come and visit us in Friuli. We are based near Udine and Trieste. In our distillery — a fully artisanal distillery, 100% artisanal — the Nonino family will be waiting to discover together with you the art of distillation and the art of mixology with grappa. Thank you.
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