108 | Leveraging Trade Fairs to Drive Demand | How Supasawa's Team Optimizes Managing Sales in 55 Markets

Show Notes

Episode Deep-Dive Analysis Available at maffeodrinks.com 

Continuing our previous conversation, Guillaume Lambrecht explains his trade fair strategy for building global presence with Supasawa, focusing primarily on his BCB Berlin approach.

With distributors across 55 markets, through strategic trade show investments rather than individual country visits.

This episode details his methods for maximizing trade fair ROI, including relationship-focused meetings, community building at industry events, and using trade shows as cost-effective alternatives to extensive international travel.

Guillaume outlines how he leverages events like BCB Berlin to maintain distributor relationships and establish global brand presence.

Covers trade show networking strategies, international distributor management through industry events, and approaches to global brand building via strategic fair participation.

Timestamps:

-00:00 Introduction: International Scaling Strategies for Small Beverage Brands

- 05:37 Community-Driven Growth: Social Media and Organic Brand Advocacy Systems

- 11:35 Relationship-Based Sales: Human-to-Human Business Philosophy for Global Markets

- 19:31 Trade Show ROI Strategy: BCB Berlin Investment and International Networking Optimization

- 38:04 Global Distribution: Route to Market and International Distributor Management

- 45:12 Market Adaptation: COVID-19 Opportunities and Business Resilience Strategies

- 52:30 Sustainable Expansion: Quality Relationship Management Across 55 Markets

Interested in Group Subscriptions, Keynote Presentations or Advisory? You can get in touch at [e-mail] or find out more at maffeodrinks.com 

Creators and Guests

Host

Chris Maffeo

Drinks Leadership Advisor | Bridging Bottom-Up Reality & Top-Down Expectations

Guest

Guillaume Lambrecht

Founder | Supasawa

What is MAFFEO DRINKS?

The MAFFEO DRINKS Podcast is a leading drinks industry podcast delivering frontline insights for drinks leadership.

For founders, directors, distributor MDs, and hospitality leaders navigating the tension between bottom-up reality and top-down expectations.

20+ years building brands across 30+ markets. Each episode features drinks builders: founders, distributors, commercial directors, sharing how the drinks industry actually works. Not the conference version. Honest conversations.

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This is Maffeo Drinks.
By just shutting up, you know,

and listening to a bartender,
you know, they open up and tell

you what is the need.
In this episode I'm joined by

Guillaume Lambrecht.
He's the owner at Deluxe

Distillery and probably you know
him as the the the mastermind

behind Supersawa.
It makes me so happy at the same

time, you know that people are
coming to our stand.

They have one or two people
coming along with them.

Like do you know that this brand
that they show with with their

finger to to to the stand like
like this, like and then you see

them talking and between each
other.

Oh, this is just a sour mix
along.

Oh, wait, come on.
And then you see them coming to

the bar.
The bottom is speaking to them

who we who we have on our stand
and it's such a great

atmosphere.
In this episode we speak about

the importance of building a
community and we go through some

of the aspects that Guillaume
and the team are working with

everyday, you know, launching
the brand different markets, but

also establishing their presence
in bigger and smaller trade

fairs.
You know, we bumped into each

other very often at at back home
in Berlin.

Where he stand has now become a
destination for for bartenders.

So I think I've said enough.
I don't want to spoil it.

Let's dive in.
Finally, after, you know, we

keep bumping on each other at
the BCB and and and elsewhere.

Yeah, we also met Bragg ones.
Yes, true, true, true.

It was a fun a fun bar show.
Let me let me ask you the first

question.
So what I really like about what

you are doing from what I'm
seeing from the outside and, you

know, whether it's social media,
whether it's, you know, trade

fairs when we bump into each
other, is that super sour is a

very technical product.
You know, it's yeah, I mean,

it's very functional in that
sense, you know, like it serves

a clear need.
I mean, it's not something you

seep on your own.
And you put super sour on the

rocks and, and, and drink it at
the, you know, on the, at the

beach now.
So it's quite technical, but you

managed to, to make it really
cool, you know, like the, the,

the brand building aspect of it.
I was impressed because, you

know, usually when you see this
type of products, they are quite

boring.
Allow me to say, you know, that,

you know, it's very OK, like
this is what you need.

And this is like, it's kind of
like an instruction manual, but

you made it from my perspective,
almost like a lifestyle brand.

You know, that it's cool to see.
And, and I mean, I, I just love

it.
So I, I want to ask, I mean, you

were mentioning something about
the, the, you know, the social

media before, but how you know,
how, how do you manage to do, to

do that on something that is so
technical?

Wow, what a question, Chris.
What I would say is that we

tried to sell it as easy as
possible for everybody.

It's like you said, it's a very
technical product if you think

about it, but we don't try to
overcomplicate it for people who

are just starting in the bar
industry.

So that's for sure.
And I think it's also about

indeed about having some easy
marketing tools to make it work.

So that's indeed what you, what
you, what you said like like or

Instagram and everything around
it.

We try to, we try to build up a
community that's it's really

part of the DNA of super sour.
Without that community, we don't

have anything that we, we, that
we, that we, we would have,

right?
It's to the community through

the communication that we have
that that super sour is rotating

quite well and that it's made.
It's how to say it's less,

that's that that it is a less
bigger step for novices in the

bar scene to take, to take the
jump to superstar to try it out,

right?
It's because other bartenders

are using it on their social
media on in their cocktails

during their bar shows, all this
kind of things.

And that's why where we see the
big, the big step forward,

right?
We, we don't have the money

again to pay 4100 thousand of
EUR of marketing, but we don't

have that.
I mean, we are a small company

and we try to support all the
bar.

Then as a trainer, the bar backs
the FMB managers in the way we

can, to showcase them what it
can save and how we can help

them to be be a better person.
And say, because they have more

time to be a more healthier
person, because they can go more

to the, to the gym, for example.
But also to, to be more

creative.
Because instead of juicing 2-3

hours a day or a week, they can
be more being more creative and,

and, and creating new cocktails,
for example, for the new next

menu, instead of doing that
between cooking with, with your

rice that you're thinking, oh,
tomorrow I need my new menu.

What, what will I take?
I will take some sage, I'll take

some lime.
I will take no, no, now you have

some more time.
You can do it that well do when

there is a little bit less
people in in the bar, for

example, you have two hours of
more more to spend because you

are not juicing all these kind
of things.

It, it really helps and, and
just to compare that that's it's

a sour component.
And, and just by saying that

people understand it and it's
makes it so easy and so

accessible for everybody that
it's that the technical product

behind super sour is getting
lost a little bit and get

forgetting because it's just a
sour component with so much

USPS, so much unique selling
propositions like the long shelf

life of one year after opening,
the consistency, because it's

always a recipe, the clearness,
for example, it's a fun fact for

making clear cocktails.
So I know when people are

starting thinking about all
this, it's it's doesn't, it does

make sense and it's, it's not
that complicated as people

think.
Yeah, yeah.

No, I.
Like I, like I wrote, I wrote an

article on my, on my website
written sometimes ago, sometime

ago that, you know, I was
calling it the, the, the, the

selling Ring Rd. you know, like
the Ring Rd. of the city.

You know, I'm from Rome, you
know, like, but many other

capitals have these kind of like
structure, especially in Europe,

you know, the Ring Rd. of, you
know, going around the city.

And then you can take different
kind of routes to, to get into

the center.
And what I like listening to you

is that, you know, you have
different ways, you know, like

with some, it may be the shelf
life with some other will be the

sour component.
With some other will be the, you

know, the acidity of the of the
drink.

You know, like and depend, you
know, there's no one set in

stone selling story that is like
this is what we do, you know,

the monotone kind of selling
story.

And then people like block, you
know, and what you said at the

beginning, you know, the by just
shutting up, you know, and

listening to a bartender, you
know, they open up and tell you

what is the need.
And, and this is not about

having a kind of like a sales
technique.

It's just what you, I love what
what you said, you know, human

to human is just like normal.
I want to have a conversation.

We do.
I want to see if, you know, we

like each other.
I want to see if there is an

opportunity to, to do business
together, you know, and, and by

listening to you, then all of a
sudden I realized, OK, actually,

maybe they have a, a problem
with stability.

Maybe they have a problem with
speed, maybe they have a problem

with consistency.
Maybe they do outdoor events and

when they run out of stuff, you
know, they bring 2 bottles of

super sour and you know, and
the, the issue is fixed.

So it's, it's, it's, it's very
interesting and, and building

back on the, on the creating
demand that it's one of my dear,

dear topics.
The, you know, we always bump

into each other at BCB and, and
I've seen your development in

BCB.
We also discussed this

personally.
But what I like is that, you

know, I wrote a few articles
about the fact that I'm not a

big fan of trade fairs for small
brands.

You know, the fact that I, I
have the feeling that many

companies, many brand brand
owners, they rush into things,

you know, like they do an
Instagram account and then, OK,

when is the next BCB or when is
the next Athens bar show where

the next Roma bar, you know,
whatever it is.

But they just like think that
then things are going to come,

You know, people are going to
come to their stand and people

are going to, you know, deal
with them.

You know what, what's your
experience?

Because I'm, I'm a big, I'm, I'm
telling you what I feel from

watching your stance now from my
perspective is that you have

really done well this creating
the month before going there.

And it feels like the, the, the
cherry on the cake kind of

moment, you know, But what?
Tell me what you know, because I

have this kind of conversation
with many, with many people in

the industry.
And then they say, no, you know,

trade fairs are great.
And you know, like, I, I want to

hear from you because you are,
you know, it's your money at

stake and it's your brand
building.

What's your experience on why
bringing together this

community, the online community,
the offline community, and

bringing the brand identity to
life in person?

Yeah, I think.
It's a very good question though

sometimes we don't stand still
with with, with what all what we

are doing right.
It's, it's, it's we try.

I have to say also Chris that
everything that I do with

Superstar and with my company in
general is, is mainly gut

feeling also right.
I have some, some degrees left

and right, but to be honest,
definitely in this market and in

our industry, I think it's about
gut feeling and the gut feeling

definitely when you're talking
with people, you have to, I

always say to people from the
start, people get my, my

confidence and get my, my.
How do you say that in English?

Get my, my, my respect, right?
Immediately right.

And while we are ongoing in the
conversation, I will see if that

respect is, is, is enforced or
is is declined, for example.

And what I would say is like,
yeah, I mean, it's a very

difficult choice because again,
we don't have a lot of money.

We do everything ourselves.
It's our own money.

We don't have any investors in
our company.

So we need to make some choices.
The, the, the easiest choice

these days to, to bring out your
brands is of course, social

media.
But we can't forget that not all

about.
And it's our, our own line, you

know, it's about the, the, the
human to human is a conversation

that we have with everybody in
the market itself.

That's also why I travel so
much.

I travel I think every two
weeks.

I'm happy that my wife hasn't
hasn't divorced me yet because

it's a little bit a tricky one,
but it is.

Yeah, it is what it is.
But she knows what I'm trying to

build here and it's really that
community, the route to markets.

And we really start from the
bars.

I mean, it's one of your biggest
slogans, right, Chris?

Brands built from bottoms up.
And to be honest, I think it's

300% definitely the first stage
for us is very important to have

a couple of peers to a couple of
bot tennis bars who shows

interest in it.
And then from there we asked the

bot tennis from there on what
who the whole citizen are?

Do they have any connections,
for example, with distributors

to see OK, if they can help us,
for example.

And one we've we asked those
questions to the bot tennis or

to the Bedford manager.
They feel like, wow, a brand is

asking me for help for
distribution.

They, they, it's, it's like,
well, I, I will be an immediate

brand ambassador.
You know, they, they are, they

are living the brand even better
and more than than than

ourselves almost, you know, and
that's, that makes it very, very

fun.
Once we then find force a

beautiful distributor, it's
great.

And then of course, we try to
play around with the distributor

to see, OK, what are the needs
of the distributor?

What do they need?
How much?

Yeah, not attention, but how
much support they need, right?

Do they need to meet to come
over or my sales manager to come

over to do master classes, do
market visit, to visit again?

More and more and more
customers.

And at a certain point, you know
how the community works, right,

Chris?
People and botanists are talking

all the time.
I think it's every country and

every city.
There's a big WhatsApp group

with four hundred 500,000 people
in one group where I need this

product, I need some more sugar.
Somebody has a beautiful, just

saying brand names Campari or
just the Campari bottle or

vintage.
I'm in need for that or I had a

questions, I made this, it
doesn't work out.

How can you help me?
And that's the community that we

will create once people and once
we have 10:15, 20-30 people are

botanists using our product.
We have a small community who

will always back us up and
that's where we always start

with that kind of elements.
Of course, Superstar is not a

spirit, right?
So per bottle, for example, we

earn a couple of cents.
It's not euros in terms of

spirits.
So we need, it's like a tonic

brand, right?
We need to sell a huge amount of

bottles to really make it work.
I mean, not all time, but to

make a kind of a living of it.
And, and as far as it's

important to have this huge
rotation on, on, on a product.

And how can we expedite this a
little bit?

It's, it's really to be there
every time where the community

is, is, is, is gathering, right?
And and the biggest gathering in

our opinion is still in Europe
and BCB Berlin, right.

And that's also why we we always
try to invest in dead last four

years.
I think already with now with

the stand and it's I would not
do it, Chris, for example, if I

was and and and sorry if I
offense somebody, but I wouldn't

do it if I was another gin,
another vodka brands, right?

Definitely in in my, I would say
in my size of off company, I

would say because I don't think
it will make a difference.

OK, maybe you will find one on
you 2 these distributors, but

will they know what you're
doing?

Is it a good distributor?
Do you have already clients?

Will it rotate?
Will it not rotate?

Do you have more budget to spend
or have you spent all your

budget, for example, BCB?
That's another question, right?

And and for us, it's really
because we are super sour.

We are not, we are not really
100% blue ocean anymore, but but

we have, we are the market
leader in what we call the sour

mixer category and being there
and showcasing that we are

available, that you are
available in 55 markets shows us

that being there makes sense
because we all know in Berlin,

it's what 7080% bartenders,
right?

And then have the 3020% with
really active and great.

And if I make my calculation,
Chris, it's just also like if I

need to travel to 55 countries
every year, it will cost me far

more than than doing the
investment at BCB.

Not saying that everybody's
coming over to BCB from all my

all partners, but if 15/20/25
distributors are coming by to

say hi, I mean, that's, that's a
great, I would say cost saving

and a meant for, for, for my
travelling, which my bookkeeper

would, would, would love to see.
But that's a little bit the, the

thing and what we do also at, at
BCBI don't need to tell you, but

for everybody listening, we
don't talk about business in

BCB.
It's really, I have my meetings

back-to-back three days in a
row.

I think I have what 2025
meetings, something like that.

And then I have see that what we
talk about is about family,

about how you're doing.
How, how have you been on

holidays and let's catch up
after BCB And that's all

together with the beautiful
cocktail in your hands.

Alcohol, economic, right?
But it's all about the

connection that we need.
And the better the connection

and the stronger the connection
is with my distributor at all,

even bartenders, the better the
rotationist, the better the

communicationist.
I can call to 25 people right

now and they will take the phone
for sure.

We will have 5 minutes or 10
minutes of laughing 1st and then

after that we will talk a little
bit about business.

But it's all, all our parties
that you work with are more or

less good friends of the
industry.

And, and, and we are trying to
make to build that case

throughout the industry because
it, it's already stressful

enough right in the world.
It's, we have a lot of other

things going on in the whole
world.

And I think that drinks industry
is an industry that that

deserves that.
That's, that's openness, that's,

that's, that's kindness.
And we don't need to fight about

having that placing that bottle
in the back bar, OK, it's about

pricing with if you're talking
Spurs, but with Superstar, it's

a safe space.
You don't need to talk about

prices.
It's saving you already, already

you money.
It's saving your time, it's

saving your waste and it's
saving your labor.

So what, what, what, what
difficult object or or subject

can we have about right.
So, so that's in a bit what you

are trying to do.
Love that, love that.

And so let me let me ask you
this question.

Like if you, if you, if you go
back in, in time, let's say,

like, do you think that it's
kind of like a chicken and egg

question this one.
So I understand it's a, it's a

tough one, you know, do you feel
it started, you know, you

started to build the demands
online first, you know, with

social media or did it start
physically, you know, in bars

because you have done all this
research upfront with bartenders

and that has pushed, you know,
the, the demand app.

Yeah, I think it would be by the
bartenders itself and during

already the the the making of
the recipe and and the product

itself that we already not
established, but we were, we

were setting up the community
without knowing that we were

doing it because of asking so
much feedback from the industry

back to us.
And and that's made us, it was,

it was only a couple of people,
right.

But even those people started to
talk with their friends.

And you know how those people
love to talk.

People love to chat about new
things that they have learned or

seen or worked with.
And and that's I think a little

bit how it started.
Of course, it's not possible

anymore.
And it's my strong belief that

it's not possible anymore today
to have a brand without any

presence on social media.
We don't really build up the

mount on social media because we
don't have any online shop or

whatever.
The of course we have

wholesalers who sell online and
different countries of course,

but it's not something that we
do from our website or self to

shepherd over a worldwide.
We don't do that.

We don't try to sell online.
We try to inspire online.

We try to gather the community
to get together and then also we

will see.
A tremendous amount of I was, I

would call that end mails,
right?

Or from Instagram or whatever,
or messages with people with

questions about the recipe on
problems that have occurred

during making that recipe.
And that's what we want to do.

We want to help people and we
want to inspire people with our

social media and we want to
drive demand, drive rotation by

the physical approach, by the
1:00 to 1:00 conversations.

If it's now by bartenders or
even my distributors, we want to

have the same.
We want our distributors to be

able to have the same
conversations as I would do in

their country, right?
If I could split myself or

multiply myself by 50, that's
all the salespeople of my

distributor could do the same
talk that I can do towards their

customers.
And that would be the the ideal

situation.
Of course, it's not easy.

As you also know, Chris, some
distributors are more open for

communication and more also more
open for help and suggestions

than others.
Not saying that people that

don't communicate are bad or
something, but sometimes it's

for us as a small company, it's
makes it very easy to know on a

monthly basis, on a quarterly
basis what is going on.

So we can help them, we can we
can shift a little bit from left

or right.
We get a lot of feedback from

the market because every market
is different.

Chris.
We have for example, we entered

the market in India.
The market in India is 100%

different than the market in the
US or in Australia.

So they have different
purchasing power, they have

different demands.
Lime is different cost of Labor,

labor is completely different.
I mean, it's a whole different

story.
So it's very important to know

from my side, but also
definitely from the side of the

distributor, from the market to
see, OK, what is going on there?

What, what are their really what
are their needs?

And, and, and, and I think the
first step for us for definitely

to come back to your original
question is for sure, we started

with community from Ground Zero
on, on, on in the kitchen and

then in the lab, you know, where
we, we, we tried recipes 60-70

different kind of recipes.
We took 7-8 months to make that

recipe to fine tune it, to step
stabilize it.

So that's, that's where it all
started.

And every bot then the ghost
also international to do this

kind of BCB.
So they start there to talk

about super sour without even us
knowing.

And then the ball is getting is
getting rolling out right.

So, so that's, that's amazing.
Nice.

And and what, what you were just
saying about the, the, so the

differences between countries
you mean?

I mean what, what is your
experience in the sense that

because in in the brand building
elements, I feel that is very

similar in the end, you know, we
are talking about premium bars

and you know, the, the, the, the
premium on trade and especially

those kind of elements are, are
the same people go into a bar to

order a cocktail.
Yes, exactly.

So just to clarify what you mean
about differences, it's like

what do you mean about
differences in the in, in, in,

in route to market, in?
Yes, that the different and and

needs also Chris I would say and
also the difference and how far

is that market developed in the
marketing in the cocktail is

seen.
You know, we have still markets

where the gin and tonic has just
been invented, for example,

where we have the, the where a
gin and tonic, it is almost non

existing anymore because it has
been so saturated, right?

So, so that's the, the, the huge
gap where we where we are living

in, right?
So, so for example, India, a

couple of let's say 3-4 years,
the the Gen. hype just started

there where in Belgium and in
Western Europe, I would say it's

already since what 2010, 2012,
something like that, that the

Gen. hype is that's all over the
place, right?

So, so it's a really huge
discrepancy and and, and and and

timing right?
And, and, and also people want

to use also sometimes super sour
in a different way.

In most cases, super sour is
used as as a product itself.

But for example, is trader.
It's getting a lot the the

aspect of mixing fresh juice
with super sour together because

they are they are very found on
their real fresh juices.

For me, no issue.
I mean, it's if it helps them to

save waste by blending the both
of them and expanding their life

cycle, that's amazing.
If it saves them time, perfect.

So it's all the aspects of
Supercell which are in, I was

incorporated in in that blend.
So for me it's all no problem

that it's not just Supercell but
a blend.

For me, it's all no problem.
We want to help the product, the

the people and the botanists and
not not make their life more

difficult.
And, and in terms of route to

market, like what do you feel?
Because I was discussing this

with, I was discussing the, the,
the route to market element with

David Wood from, in a, in a
previous episode from Liana

collection in, in the UK, you
know, and he was talking about

the strength of this micro
categories.

Now he was talking about Muyu or
he was talking about, you know,

some other like, you know,
Calvados, you know, he was

talking about some categories
that don't face that huge

challenges from the big player.
What is your experience in, in,

you know, like in, in this, in
this in terms of, you know,

market saturation in terms of,
you know, like how to enter and

type of, you know, distributor
share of mind that you get on,

on the you know, with the
smaller categories that you

said, you know, you need to
drive a lot of volume, but maybe

the the the per serve can be
very, very small.

Exactly. well-being a very
almost indeed a micro category,

I would say it, it has a lot of
advantages, but also a lot of

disadvantages.
The disadvantages is that that a

lot of distributors, if you look
at just really to distributors

aspect that a lot of people
still don't know you, they don't

see the value of it very often.
But at the other side, if you

can convince them that I'm just
having the talk with them, for

example, at the BCB, that if you
then still talk with some, some,

some business wise, that's
instead of pushing for example,

for another gin or another vodka
where it's all very price

sensitive.
It's about 10 cents, $0.20,

thirty cents difference on the
competing brand for adding to

that bar list menu.
With Supercell, they can add a

product which doesn't interfere
with any other product in the

portfolio.
It will not take away other

volume.
It will add volume to their

sales.
For example, if a bar will order

just saying 5 trays of tonics,
like 2 boxes of a gin, two boxes

of of a bitter and and two boxes
of of whiskey, they can easily

add two boxes of superstar with
that without interfering with

their current volume.
It's not that if they add

another gin, for example, the
two boxes, well it was two boxes

of, to give you an example,
Chris Hendrix for example.

And they if they add another gin
for example to their portfolio,

it will be a box of Hendricks
then and then another gin that

they will have added.
So you lose volume of Hendricks

and you add volume to another
brand.

Whereas the Hendricks guys will
not be very happy because you

lose volume where Superstar is
just volume on top of it because

it's something that doesn't
exist.

And it's an open window also for
distributors that endure

struggling with some products to
get in with Superstar, you can

get in, you can open the door
wide open.

Why?
Because it's something that they

don't have.
It's a problem that they for

sure have, but they don't know
yet.

So you need to you, I would say,
present the problem to them and

then they will be all ears.
And then once you have the

product in that bar, you can
create the relationship with it

with the bar team, with the food
and beverage manager.

And then if you have, if you are
a good distributor and you're a

small distributor, you can add
your, A model, you can add your

better, your gin, your vodka
step by step.

And that's also how we how we
did it in the beginning.

Here in Belgium, we have besides
Superstar, we have also a very

small spirits portfolio.
And Superstar is always a door

opener being all has been
already since 2018 since we

launched it, because it's such a
unique product which resolves

problems and it doesn't create
problems.

That's.
A.

That's a great that's a great
approach that I I'm a big fan of

the foot in the door kind of
yeah, kind of approach.

And it's, you know, when you
were talking, I was, I was

thinking again, you know, of,
you know, like I see it visually

when you know, the vibes at BCB,
you know, at your stands, you

know, the, you know, you, you
managed to create such a

vitality and such an atmosphere
at that, at that brand so that

it's kind of like an enabler of
cocktail culture.

And I was discussing these also
with, you know, with Ben Branson

in the latest episode of, you
know, the founder of Seedlip.

And he was saying, you know,
like the, you know, when you

managed to get people on board,
then it's about them explaining

it.
You know, you don't have to

explain it anymore.
No.

And I feel, for example, you
know, go into your stand, you

know, there is probably one guy
or girl that brings someone to

the stand as well.
Let's talk here all the.

Time.
That's so funny.

And they you know, you maybe you
can even get distracted and they

carry on the conversation or you
know, selling Subasawa for you

to their.
Friends, it is this one that

that's something that we have
all the time, Chris, really it's

it's so funny and, and, and it
makes me so happy at the same

time, you know, and that people
are coming to our stand.

They have one or two people
coming along with them.

Like do you know that this brand
that they show with with their

finger to to to the stand like
like this, like, and then you

see them talking and between
each other.

Oh, this is just a sour mixer.
Oh, wait, come on.

And then you see them coming to
the bar.

The bottom is speaking to them.
We we have on our stand and it's

such a great atmosphere.
It's it doesn't feel pushed, it

doesn't feel forced.
That's all.

I love that.
No, that's fantastic and I love

to.
That's why I wanted to have you

because I've seen the
development like I've been to

the last three BCBS and I've
seen your journey, you know,

like from, you know, the, the,
the hidden corner in, you know,

in the, in one of the pavilions
and you know, like that was

difficult to find.
And then now it's like, you

know, you are, you know, running
the scene of the, one of the

main rooms and it, and I love to
see, to see you there and the,

the vibe that that it brings to
the, to the, to the whole thing.

It's, it's just just incredible.
Like it's, it's really, you

know, well, well done.
I'm always like, we always take

a selfie.
Together with.

With your team, because it's I,
I feel I'm I'm part of the part

of the team, even though I'm
not.

You always are, Chris, if you're
a part of the industry, you're

always part of, of, of every
brand that you like, you know,

so on that side, that's great,
but it's true.

We, we, we had, we made a such a
big journey.

We, we, we can, we, we made this
kind of journey because of the

successes that we have small
successes still.

We are a small company, but we,
we can do this kind of, of stand

there at BCB because we, we are
grateful to the, to the industry

and we want to give the industry
something back.

And that's our way of thanking
them.

So, so everybody was using
Superstar or was found of

Superstar.
I always invite them to come to

our stand during BCB to have a
talk, to have A, to have a

conversation, to have a cocktail
together.

That's our only way and the
easiest way of, to connect with

everybody.
And that's, that's, that's,

that's how it's not only about
us, it's about the whole

industry.
And that's something that we, I

really want to face.
You know, it's like to, to

strength.
It's a, it's a small company and

everybody has, has, you know,
has, has these things to do and,

and there's no way of, of
thanking them.

Nah, fantastic, fantastic.
So what the what?

What have I missed?
You know, like that you, you

hoped I would ask you.
Let's let's put it this way.

To be honest, I don't, I don't
know.

I think we talked about in
general, Chris, we, I think and

we talked about OK, the product
Supercell, what it is.

I think our face of, of how we,
we did our journey from from

2018 till now.
I think it's was, of course, it

was not an easy start with, with
2018 then then the COVID came

by, of course, but COVID was for
us a Holy Grail.

That's something that we didn't
mention yet, but it was because

of all the bars and all the
restaurants were doing take a

take away.
And so but not only in food, but

also in beverages, people were
also looking for solutions on

that side.
And yeah, we, we, we were at the

time also the only one
available.

And so instead of, of decreasing
our volume, we were growing

massively.
It was not maybe growing

massively, maybe in distribution
way, maybe not so much in, in

the same amount of volume.
We were growing in volume also,

but not in the same percentages
because of course taking away

take away and and drinking all
on the spot is a different

volume.
But it opened so many doors also

for a brand awareness, which
helped us also greatly.

So that's a side point.
And then for the rest, so, yeah,

distribution Super Sava.
I mean, we are so happy that to,

to be part of the community in
general.

We, we, we, we, we, we don't,
we, we don't have any enemies.

I think because we are a kind of
blue ocean products.

Everybody can use this.
If you are now a skilled

bartender or, or a very starting
bartender or a bar back, we can

play around with it And it's,
it's a solution, right?

It's a solution in the terms of
of course, Eureka, I have the,

the, the, the right solution,
right, But also solution as a

liquid as it can be.
It can make your cocktails bring

it to the next level.
And that's what we stand for.

And we want to, to, to be every,
every Spartan superstar can be

the bot and his best new
friends.

And and that's a little bit what
we aim for.

Fantastic, fantastic.
So what's what's next for for

Super Sauer?
I think well with, with being

already now in 5055 countries
worldwide, it's, it's, it's

already a lot.
We want to grow, of course,

still more, but also more grow
maybe in the, in the countries

that we have at the moment.
Why?

Because you can.
We are again a small company.

We are only 5 people and we want
to be able to handle all the

countries, all the parties that
we have in a decent way.

We want to offer them service,
we want to offer them air time

together.
When we can communicate, we can

discuss all the problems.
A lot of those countries are

sending me reports monthly or on
quarterly basis.

So you can imagine after every
quarter of every month, I have

tons of of of calls to do not at
not to be needed to be half an

hour or whatever, but but just
in 50 minutes, OK, what

happened?
How was the sales?

What can be better?
Did we miss some opportunities?

So, so we want to keep up with
with that pace because we feel

that it's very important that
the communication that the human

to human apart also toward
distributors.

We want to keep that up.
So, and if I can choose, because

you can't choose the, I mean,
the elements of the world's are

not always in your favor or it
doesn't always choose the

deposit that you want.
I would love to just settle with

with our current distribution
and see do we need to make

changes and, and some partners,
sometimes that can happen

because they change also from
from strategy and, but mostly is

just really be able to more
communicate with them to help

them out, to see if we can give
them more perks, IDs and help

and start from there and try to
spread out the words that

superstar work can really help
their help their cases to be

more profitable as a bar scene.
And, and I think that's this

that, that, that that is a big
message I want to give.

Think about profits because
everything is getting so

expensive labor, the volatile
vitality of of fresh juices.

And you want to be consistent
and just think about it as as as

a bartender, as an FMB manager
superstar can really be your

your holding grill to to make
that happen on that, on that

aspect of of business.
Fantastic, fantastic.

So where where can people find
you to wrap it up?

To wrap it up where you can find
me me in person on social media,

LinkedIn, whatever and also if
you have any questions regarding

the product and superstar
Instagram and message, please

send me a message there.
I will be answering probably

within the 12 hours for sure
because I checked that very

regularly.
If you have a more big question

regarding recipes or a more and
large question, you can always

send me an e-mail, which you can
find on the website of, of

Supercell.
And yeah, we are very, very

commutative.
We are very accessible.

And yeah, you can find us a
little bit everywhere.

Or of course in the best trade
shows where we have stands or a

boot.
I am mostly like 80 percent, 90%

always walking around there.
So just give me a call, text,

WhatsApp message, whatever.
I'm always will be there.

Fantastic, Ian, it was fantastic
to have you.

It was a it was a pleasure to
chat a little bit more finally,

and I hope to see you soon in,
well, I guess in BCB in, in

October.
BCBASBCBAS Chris, I'm looking

forward to our renewed selfie of
every year and let's repost that

so all the followers of the
mafia drinks can can see that we

are not bullshitting about it.
Fantastic.

Thanks a lot, Guillaume.
Thank you very much, Chris.

All the best.
Have a great day.

That's all for today, I hope you
enjoyed this episode with

Guillaume Lambrecht from
Supersawa and the Deluxe

Distillery.
We went through.

Many, many things.
Building a category, building,

establishing a category that is
not known yet, how to identify a

need and to check that that need
is actually really a need by

bars and bartenders.
And we also speak about, you

know, how to build demand, how
to sustain the demand, how to

work with trade fairs.
There's a lot of.

Information and.
If you want to get a deep dive

from the episode with a detailed
analysis, you can get it and

subscribe at maffeodrinks.com If
you can think of a couple of

people that you think would
benefit from listening and

watching this episode, please
share it with them.

Available on video in Spotify
and YouTube and in audio in all

the other.
Platforms like Apple Podcast.

That's all for today, and
remember that brands are built

Bottom-up.