Winning Without Deep Pockets: Maurice Doyle on Capital-Efficient Drinks Growth

The drinks industry has entered what Maurice Doyle calls "a new reality" where COVID's artificial boom has given way to capital constraints that force brands to finally answer the only two strategy questions that matter.

The conventional wisdom says you need funding to grow. Investors, bank loans, capital raises. But what happens when traditional funding dries up and even major corporations face debt levels they haven't seen in decades?

We discuss this exact challenge with Maurice Doyle, who has built brands across Bacardi and William Grant & Sons (such as Hendrick's Gin and Monkey Shoulder), and who most recently served as CEO of Compass Box. He has recently been announced as Non-Executive Chair at The Cotswolds Distillery. His perspective spans the full drinks ecosystem, from launching Bacardi Breezer to navigating today's capital-challenged world.

The Industry's Inflection Point Nobody Wants to Acknowledge

Maurice identifies the current moment as an inflection point for the drinks industry. During COVID, brands experienced what felt like unstoppable growth. We all thought we were marketing geniuses. The reality? It was an artificial peak driven by cheap money.

Interest rates climbed. Investors stepped back. Banks became cautious. The easy money era ended abruptly, and the industry woke up to a fundamentally different landscape.

DEAR DRINKS BUILDER,

If the above resonates, it's because you've lived it.

Drinks Builders like you know what needs to happen. The struggle is bringing everyone else with you.

I've been there. You know the frustration. You can see what needs to happen, but the ecosystem pulls in different directions. Colleagues, partners, distributors, investors. All with their own pressures and timelines.

I've spent twenty years navigating this complexity. What follows is a methodology for bringing people with you and actually getting there.

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