Episode 61

061 | Nick Gillett | Managing Expectations While Scaling Your Brand's Distribution | Mangrove Global

In Ep. 61, I continued the conversation with Nick Gillett from Ep. 60. He’s the Managing Director of Mangrove Global. We spoke about all the aspects of bringing Drinks Brands to market from start to scale, including distributors, Wholesalers, and all the links in the Drinks Ecosystem. I hope you will enjoy our chat.


Time Stamps

0:00 Intro

0:25 Portfolio Selection

8:20 Creating Your Own Category

16:42 Micro Categories & National Cuisines

23:20 Traditional & Modern Serves

25:53 Geographic Centered Marketing

30:25 Building a Neighborhood Presence

32:33 Overcomplicating Cocktails

34:10 Value of Off-Trade

37:44 Transitioning to Chains

41:21 Where To Find Nick

42:23 Outro


About The Host: Chris Maffeo

About The Guest: Nick Gillett




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About the Podcast

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The MAFFEO DRINKS Podcast
Brands Are Built Bottom-up.

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About your host

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Chris Maffeo

With 20 years of experience working for some of the biggest drinks brands across 30+ markets, I've developed a unique understanding of how brands grow in today's market.
Now, I help drinks brands build sustainable growth through bottom-up demand creation.
My methodology focuses on how brand demand spreads - from initial venue adoption to international expansion.
I teach brands how to create, convert, and sustain demand across the three critical stages of growth: from one bottle to one case to one pallet.
My expertise lies in understanding how brands grow through genuine advocacy, from bar to bar, city to city, and building foundations that enable natural scaling.
Through consulting, training, and speaking engagements, I help brands:
• Build sustainable demand from the ground up
• Systematize their approach to building brands city by city
• Navigate the path from local success to international growth
• Develop strategies based on occasions rather than demographics