In Ep. 60, I had an incredible chat with Nick Gillett, 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
1:20 Brand or Liquid Marketing Foundation
1:58 Nick Gillett Intro
6:58 Wholesalers & Importers Differences
12:50 The Game of Share of Mind
16:53 The Diversity of Wholesale
25:58 Has Wholesale Changed?
28:53 The Value of Relationships
32:10 Outro
About The Host: Chris Maffeo
About The Guest: Nick Gillett
In Ep. 60, I had an incredible chat with Nick Gillett, 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
1:20 Brand or Liquid Marketing Foundation
1:58 Nick Gillett Intro
6:58 Wholesalers & Importers Differences
12:50 The Game of Share of Mind
16:53 The Diversity of Wholesale
25:58 Has Wholesale Changed?
28:53 The Value of Relationships
32:10 Outro
About The Host: Chris Maffeo
About The Guest: Nick Gillett
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.
Insights come from sitting at the bar.
Beyond episodes: advisory for leadership teams, subscription with episode deep dives and principles to navigate your own reality.
Beer, wine, spirits, Low and non-alcoholic.
Bottom-up Insights & Episode Deep Dives at https://maffeodrinks.com
Welcome to the Mafao Drinks
Podcast.
I'm your host Chris Mafao.
In episode 60 I had an
incredible chat with Nick
Gillet, Managing Director of
Mangrove Global.
We spoke about all the aspects
of bringing drinks brands to
market from start to scale
distributors, wholesalers and
all the links of the drinks
ecosystem.
I hope you will enjoy your chat.
One last thing, if you enjoy
this podcast, you will also like
the Mafao Drinks guides where
you'll find all you need to
build a brand.
Bottom up, you can subscribe
free or paid on my third
drinks.com.
Hi, Nick.
How you doing?
I'm good, Chris.
Thanks very much so.
Welcome to the My Third Drinks
Podcast.
It's an honor to have you.
You know, I've been following
your journey for quite some
years, I think.
I think you were one of the
first people that I started
reading, you know, posts on
LinkedIn and commenting on and
reading articles and we finally
met and we recognise each other
at Bar Convent a couple of years
ago and at a stand and I said I
think we know each other
virtually.
I was very kind that you've
taken the time to read some of
my rantings on on LinkedIn.
You're never quite sure if
anyone does, and I've been
listening to a number of your
podcasts.
To me, your great guests are
quite interesting and every
day's a school day, so we can
always all learn.
Fantastic, fantastic.
So let's start.
I mean, you know, one of my
starting question is always does
it start with the brand or the
liquid?
That's one of my favorite
question to ask.
What?
What's your take on that one
for?
US Mangrove Actually, it's a
pretty simple answer.
It always starts with the
liquid.
When we first started the
company and and to this day any
potential brand, We always taste
blind against its competitive
set.
You can always change packaging
and branding and often you know
we we get sent liquids in
different bottles and various
things.
So it's always starts with the
liquid and then every other
layer comes on top.
Nice.
I I, I agree.
Let's start with a bit of an
intro about you.
Like for for those who don't
know you like, just give us a
one minute kind of overview of
who you are and your experience
in the industry.
I'm Nick Gillett.
I'm the founder of Mangrove's
importer and distributor
Spirits.
Within the UK market we handle
sales and marketing for brands,
but both within the UK and
around the world who want to
achieve their potential in it in
in the UK, I've been in the
industry a long time.
I'm reminded of that every day
when I go out and now when I
talk to my team and sort of
recent recruits, I realise I'm
probably one of the older people
in the industry these days.
I started out working for a
wholesaler in London, so I was
just an account manager working
for Co visitors who were to my
mind still one of the best
wholesalers back back then in
the day.
Spirit specialist, Premium
spirit specialist as account
manager at Central London.
Then I moved into a marketing
role for them as a business, got
lucky, went and launched.
Was part of the team that
launched Sagatiba Kashasa, which
was just an amazing experience.
And between those two roles and
Jobs had this idea for a company
that can represent premium
spirit brands who needed stories
told.
And it's very difficult.
Most of your listeners won't
remember.
But cocktails were just becoming
a thing, right?
It didn't really exist.
I think we we probably only had
10 gin brands back then.
You know, it feels like a very
long time ago, but we built a
portfolio for many years,
started in 2006 as a independent
part of the wholesaler.
And then 2013 we were out in
market on our own.
And then in 2023, my partner and
I decided we would join Group
Bernard Higher, who operate
around the world as Spiribam, a
French conglomerate who who owns
some Spirit brands.
And we've been one year as one
of their companies.
Wow, that's a bit of a journey.
So you are.
So you're one of those people
that experienced this, the Stone
Age where there were 10 gin
brands in the UK market.
I was trying to explain to my
team, we we probably as a
wholesaler had I mean maybe 10
gin brands, but two of those
would have been magnums that
went on optics in in pubs.
It it was a very different, very
different time on on one hand
the the competition and number
of brands has grown
exponentially since then, but on
the other hand, the leading
likes of hospitality.
There were groups who were just
just amazing and we were so
different match group with one
that I was fortunate enough to
look after admit their
bartenders.
I think they were still
bartenders back then, not even
mixologists, but their their
drinks professionals just had
this encyclopaedic knowledge
that set the bar for me as a
salesman to talk to them and
actually were part of the
blueprint for Mangrove going
forward, you know, probably five
years after I first met.
Nice, nice.
I love the story and it's it's a
very bottom up story.
Yeah, it all starts to bottom up
and and one of the foundation
building blocks, the Mangrove,
was to understand all about the
liquid because we were taking
liquids to customers and they
wouldn't have heard of the
brands necessarily.
And my first experience as a
salesman was walking into a
match group with a bottle of
tequila have been asked to
deliver.
I think I've been a salesman for
three days in the drinks
industry.
And yeah, Sliding doors moment.
I got lucky.
The person I delivered to said,
what do you know about it?
I said absolutely nothing.
I was told never darken their
door again without knowing
something about the brand.
And they invited me to a
training session and I watched
10 people analyze Dissects
liquids in a category I knew
absolutely nothing about other
than as a student, I didn't like
it very much and I was amazed.
I was amazed with their depths
of their knowledge, their
passion and absolutely
intimidated about trying to then
sell.
I assumed everybody in the
industry was like that.
At that point I suddenly
thought, well, I better know
some stuff here.
I better read up and learn some
stuff about our brands and how
they compete in the marketplace.
So that sounds very, very
interesting.
I'm I'm a big fan of the you
know, the British entree because
I I used to come to to England
to learn English, you know,
since I was 15.
And I remember, you know, going
to the pubs and you know it was
a totally different culture for
me coming from Rome and you know
going to pubs just, you know,
like as as a restaurant, I mean
even just like to have dinner or
lunch.
And this whole culture was so
different to me that that that's
played a big role in my love for
for entree that then got me into
into what I'm what I'm doing
now.
So I'm.
I'm totally interested in that
and and especially like one of
the things that I explain when
people ask me how to explain the
difference between an importer
and a distributor and a
wholesaler is I always say the
importer goes horizontal and the
wholesaler goes vertical.
The importer goes nationwide and
the wholesaler, the distributor
goes vertical.
You know really deep down into
the, the nitty gritty of the
sales and like building on what
you were saying about you know
getting the knowledge and how to
move that one bottle, You know
how to make it a case, how to
how to grow the rotation and how
to move into into that.
Would you would you agree with
with that definition?
It's a relatively simple slip
between the two.
When you're a wholesaler, you
walk into any outlet, You want
100% of their products.
You want to supply them with
everything.
That's how you make your money
and pay your pay your bills so
the more you can do.
The reality is, to my mind, a
good wholesaler is one who can
provide a range of products at a
competitive price but backs it
up with service.
When you're an importer and
you're working, you walk into
that venue.
But paying your mortgage depends
on you selling and activating a
small number of brands, a finite
number of brands that you
represent and that slight
difference in focus and
emphasis, it should both be
working for your ultimate
consumer.
You're right in the an import
from my sales team, getting a
product listed is only part of
the job.
They need to then get the
rotation and try and gain market
share from from their
competitive sets.
Whereas A wholesaler can just
sit back and let all the brands
compete because they will be
taking a margin on every.
Yeah, I think it's the question
of focus and wholesalers,
there's only a few that have
national coverage.
So for brands, you need to work
with lots of wholesalers if you
want true national coverage.
And wholesalers can specialize
in a particular area if they
want, So they can become
specialists know their customers
in inside.
Out.
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
And also I think there's another
element to what you were saying
that I feel the importer is
always more on the brand owner
side of things, let's let's call
it pleasing them or let's let's
say understanding them.
And you know like taking that
kind of side while the
wholesalers I think would take
much more of a customer side.
They need to deliver to the
ultimate outlets, you know, to
the outlet owner, you know their
relationship is it with is with
the outlet owner and to your
point is like they can play with
a much wider selection of items.
So that the challenge is
actually exactly on that
relationship between importer
and distributor, wholesaler
because that's where you know
the two worlds meets and and you
need to ensure that that
conversation is happening in a
in a proper manner otherwise
important level stays very top
line and you know at brand side
and at wholesaler level becomes
a little bit too tactical on you
know kickbacks and discounts and
shipments and and not brand
Bill.
There's a wide variety of
solutions within the industry,
but I think the very best
wholesalers have a pretty
knowledgeable sales team who are
aware of brands and options out
there for their customer base
and understanding their
customers the most efficient,
the best logistics next day or
same day ordering is very
important for clients.
You know ultimately it's about
satisfying the demand of their
consumers they have in the
premises at one point as a a
brand importer or distributor we
only make money if our brands
are successful.
So it's quite a lot of emphasis
on that.
So yeah we we work very closely
with our brand owners at
Mangrove and there's there's
other people do the same as us.
We will if you if you wish
design and execute a marketing
plan for the UK amend something
you've got globally.
So specifics in the market and
we'll deliver that at out net
level, but wholesalers for us
are key.
You know if the wholesalers
won't list our products then
they won't do that.
We try to make sure that there's
a margin in there for them for
that vital service they provide.
We try to work with their sales
teams to provide stuff that's
interesting.
But at the same time, we're
obviously trying to deliver
against a set of criteria,
distribution or sales numbers,
whatever it might be for our
brand owners.
And it's a complex balanced,
trying to be balanced
relationship.
Some brands have decided that
they can't make that work and so
they go direct.
Some wholesalers are currently
building their own brand
portfolios.
So that makes that harder for us
necessarily to work hand in hand
with the the distribution model
is changing all the time.
You can see if you look to the
US, you know you've got one or
two very dominant players there
with thousands of thousands of
skews, very difficult for brands
emerging to gain any traction.
I think we need a strong
wholesale sector in the UK,
otherwise I'd have to spend a
whole heap of time and money on
logistics.
But equally we can't rely on
them.
They're busy.
They have things to do in a wide
range of products.
I have a sales team generating
mild and explaining my brands to
our ultimate consumers.
It's the model we have.
It's the one I believe works.
I can't expect anyone else to
sell my brands.
Is is I guess what it boils
there.
Yeah, I I mean ultimately I
always say it's a game of it's a
game of share of minds, no.
And it you know regardless at
which link of the value chain or
or at the drink system it is,
it's it's still about share of
mind you know.
And then I think when to your
point about going direct, I
think there is also an element
of you know, trying to blame the
system in a way that in the end
is just like you're just
postponing the problem now.
Because if you don't work with
shadow of mine, you know shadow
of mine happens at you know,
importers level, at wholesalers
level that you know like whether
you have to explain it to the
sales team of wholesaler to the
sales team of the importer, to
the bartender, to the bar
manager.
You know, like it's still about
really having a story to be
told, as you said at the
beginning, so that you know it.
You you have more chances to win
that battle for the saying, huh?
And then if you just catch one
of the elements, you know, you
could think you're a little bit
further down in the journey, but
then you still have to do that
thing that you probably skip as
you know the previous link of
the chain.
We talk about building brands
and building brand equity and
and that tends to be a long term
plan.
If you say there's a 100,000
class licensed outlets in the
UK, they will have many
customers at any moment in time
having to make a choice, often
looking at a back bar, often
trying to remember what advert
they saw last or what brand they
want to choose.
It difficult to read label from
a you know a distance.
So we rely ultimately we rely on
the bartender, the sommelier,
the independent retailer shelf
space, promotional activity to
try and engage with the end user
of the consumer.
And this is where bartenders and
training provide for new brands
or smaller brands provides such
a key service because otherwise
you need a brand representative
in every outlet all the time to
stand the best chance of getting
your products served.
When you work with wholesalers,
it's about trying to get a share
of voice.
So they remember to mention your
brands.
And have you spoken to Nick from
Mangrove?
You know, he's got great staff,
he's a great guy.
I've got really good support
because that makes them
potentially look better or maybe
they can make some margin or
whatever the reason may be.
It's quite a complex ecosystem.
And if you don't do those
things, so you know, if you're
going to miss out the wholesaler
network, you need to deliver
efficiently and you need a big
sales team.
And what what Mangrove do, what
a lot of importers do is they
scale what a brand could do on
their own using local knowledge.
So brands could absolutely set
up in the UK, build a huge sales
team just selling 1 brand and
some brands do that, but it's
very expensive.
Even with one brand, you will
struggle to get some accounts
open because it's another
delivery, it's another person
the buyers got to talk to.
And so being part of report
failure of like minded brands
helps a lot of brands in the UK.
So I'd like to think that
mangroves are present in most
conversations because of one or
other in the brand we've got in
a portfolio and it allows us to
talk to about other brands.
I guess the compromise is we're
not solely focused on delivering
1 brand the whole time.
It's much more of a portfolio
approach.
But I think the strength in
numbers and I think the strength
in working with like minded
brands and for my sales people
have a big advantages.
They can walk in and say to her
an account, I'd like to talk to
you about gin.
And I say, well, we don't want
to talk about gin, where we can
talk about anything else from
arap to whiskey.
Yeah, I can imagine when I
started writing about it and
digging into the the thing
during my home days during
COVID, I always felt when I was
having conversation with brand
owners or with people in the
industry that the wholesaler is
a big bit of a kind of like a
black hole that nobody knows.
Nobody really cracks in the
sense of understanding whether
you've been in the industry as a
marketing director or says
director for 20 years or 15
years or or 25 years, you still
don't actually understand
exactly the nitty gritty of the
wholesale business now.
And there is an element for me,
it's a bit of a the old story of
the the fox and the grape.
No, like the fox can't reach the
grape and then it says the grape
is is bad.
You know, that's nothing
special.
I don't like grapes.
So there is that elements also
because like many brands
especially the smaller one don't
manage to gain that kind of like
place at the table, sit at the
table and having that
conversation.
It's like the kind of thing like
Nick doesn't answer my e-mail
kind of thing.
You know, like I don't manage,
you know, I'd love to go with
Mangrove, but I never get a
reply because they have other
brands, other priorities.
So then I'll go on my own kind
of thing.
And then the other element is
actually I don't understand
exactly.
You know, most of the people get
lost into the no, but I've got a
distributor, Yeah, but that's an
importer.
No, no, but that's a
distributor.
You know, the word distributor
sometimes gets applied to
wholesalers, sometimes gets
applied to branding agencies
that do some deliveries.
Sometimes it's it's an importer
that is just having a license
for the country but doesn't have
any boots on the ground kind of
thing.
So what is your opinion on on
that one?
I absolutely agree.
It's very confusing because
importers, distributors,
wholesalers, sometimes the
boundaries aren't clear and
there's a blurring of lines
because people do a bit of
everything.
If you look at the UK as a
whole, in global terms, it's a
relatively small drinks market
in terms of case sales.
It's an incredibly competitive
market.
It it's, it's had open borders
and and up until recently a
relatively small national drinks
trading.
And you know we've been very
good at beer.
We have a history in in, in
June.
We've got a great new history
coming in wine.
But generally we've been open to
things from around the world for
a long for a long time and we're
very multicultural.
We've taken trends and we've
loved food in in new food trends
and and chefs and and various
things.
What what that means for brands
is very difficult to reach that
Gale and satisfy everybody at
once what wholesalers and what I
believe and listen I'm totally
biased because you know I worked
for one who I saw were were
excellent and I and I look at
some of the.
Colleagues in the teams, I was
in there and then I I'm not sure
you realise quite how good our
model was, but a wholesaler
provides a delivery mechanic for
the brands.
It's the way that your boxes
arrive at your end.
Consumer.
Good wholesalers are very, very
good at that.
There are people doing same day
deliveries and guys who, you
know walk it around the corner
and all of those sorts of things
and that service element, they
do the credit control, they do
all of those all of those tasks
people forget about that has a
value and wholesalers take that
in margin.
The the simple equation is look
at what they're charging and
look at what it would cost you
to do and look at the coverage
that you get with them compared
to what you could do yourself.
Is it worth it, right.
If you don't think it's worth
it, go ahead and do it yourself.
For me, wholesalers offer quite
often local knowledge.
They will guide you us to
accounts that are worse time and
money and investment.
And maybe those who who who
aren't, they will have
experience, they will know the
characters and they can offer
scale.
You know, it's one delivery for
me to a wholesaler who can then
service fit the accounts for me.
And that to me has a, has a
absolutely has a value.
I think where it becomes
difficult is some wholesalers
will say to brands, yeah, will
be your importer, will be your
distributor, will, will be your
brand representative.
And initially that's a great
model.
They can guarantee some sales,
they can push it through, they
can substitute products, they
can do all of that.
But most accounts in the UK have
more than one wholesaler.
And I don't know, wholesaler has
100% distribution in the UK.
So there's always gaps and
wholesale needles typically
don't want to buy up each other.
Why?
Why would they?
Your competitor has brands and
they'll be retaining A margin
and they'll have access to
information.
So for brands, that's a
difficult model.
It seems great initially, but it
becomes very difficult to get to
the next scale equally as I said
earlier, wholesale.
And it's fundamentally it's
about volume of trade.
When push comes to shaft,
they're probably not going to
walk away from account because
they you don't take a particular
gin or a vodka.
So as a brand owner you know and
and there's plenty of different
models out there but we only
mangrove only make money on each
case we sell that focuses the
mind a lot into doing the best
for those brand owners.
So you know, I understand the
frustration of distributors and
there's a number of good
distributors in the UK, but
pretty much we all have quite
big portfolios or full
portfolios and we can't take
every brand.
There are other companies and I
look at somebody like Duffy
Share who who's been through a
journey of distributors and they
use their logistics back office
tool, Kruger, I know, I know
Jack mentioned it when when you
were chatting to him.
And I think the brands often
it's not one-size-fits-all and
often it may be different steps
at different times in their
brand life cycle.
So if you're very focused on one
geographical area, you can work
exclusively with one wholesaler
who hits all of those accounts,
and then you might need to
branch out.
These days, there's different
people, there's sales agencies
who don't buy your stock, who
just charge your retainer.
There's there's, there's a
number of different solutions,
but it isn't easy.
You can.
Imagine and and and This is what
like when you were talking.
Like it was bringing me back to
my old days as a sales guy in
Rome.
One of the things like of I just
realized like when you were
talking that one of the reasons
why I've been so focusing on the
details and I like to deep dive
into the details of things and
not just stay on the surface is
because when I was a sales guy,
I used to get paid on.
I mean the let's say the fixed
salary was like marginal.
It was on Commission, but the
Commission was on on the actual
money that I was getting paid by
the customer.
So it wasn't on the invoice, he
was on actually getting the
money back.
So my attention was always on
this kind of like level of brand
building or what, you know, we
wouldn't need a good outlets,
but then we would also need a
good outlet that would pay,
which is often very
misunderstood by brand owners
when they stay at top level.
Now as like we want to be in XYZ
kind of bar, but you know, like
there is something that you're
paying on the wholesaler level
like the risk of insolvency, you
know the risk of breakage or
whatever, you know and and very
often it's easy to look at an
Excel sheet from a corporate
headquarter without knowing what
actually goes into the basics of
of the business.
Now and it's it's something that
is very dear to me because I
mean if you see like the the
photo that I've got over there,
like there's my grandfather
sitting in front of his shop and
he was a wholesaler in the South
of Italy.
And I can't remember if I told
you about this and and that the
business was open for 100 years.
You know, his father had opened
it and then you know, nobody
wanted to continue that business
in the family.
And then he died when I was only
six years old.
So I wasn't in down the line of
continuation.
This is the best I can do from
that, from that angle.
But like what makes me think,
like, I've always had that in
the back of my mind.
And what's interesting and what
I'd like to know from you is
that do you think like the
actual wholesale business as it
changed like with all this news
and things and digitalization
and Google Maps and all these
things, do you think that the
actual essence of wholesale
business has changed?
I have this conversation a lot.
So what am I, 2025 years, maybe
a few more years than that.
Out Out of wholesale not being
one, the rules we operated and
back then we we walked away from
a business which was two types
of market because it wasn't
worth it.
We didn't do very many beers and
waters and and mixers and things
like that because they were
heavy and they took up space on
the truck and we'd rather sell
champagne and and and Magnums of
vodka because the margins were
better.
We were 300% focused on getting
paid.
It's funny you mentioned that
it's a key element and you know
brands working with wholesalers
and and it spreads your risk or
concentrates your risk into one
person going bus.
But you don't have to spend all
your time chasing chasing money
and hospitality.
He's got a track record of
business failure because it's
just the sheer nature of it,
it's hard.
So I think when you look at
what's happened, technology has
come in, it's streamlined the
ordering process.
There's lots of automated
systems to make it easier at at
at bar level everyone has
Google, right?
I mean you can all, you can all
go and search this software
around to help map routes and
you know maximize vehicle loads.
But the fundamental process and
we'll caveat it slightly but the
fundamental process of service
looking after your customers
making sure product arrives on
time, the right orders and and
and wholesalers when they do it
properly add a real layer of
knowledge and experience.
I don't think that's changed.
I don't think where it's done
well.
I think it's even more valuable
at the at the moment to be
honest because COVID for a big
change in starting and
expertise.
I think what has changed to a
certain extent and it's driven
by staffing, it's driven by
other business considerations
such as high overheads and you
know taxation and energy costs
and COVID loans and various
things is whether venues value
wholesalers as much as they used
to.
And there has been certainly in
in the market, there's there was
a a race for market share people
trying to get every last penny
up a bottle, which I understand
on one hand.
But on the other hand if you
need time to deliver to you on
Sunday or you need an emergency
order or whatever else, then
there's always a compromise to
be to be met.
And I think some of the biggest
threat and owners, I think
they've forgotten the role that
wholesalers can play in
distribution, ceding new brands,
getting getting things out
there.
So while whilst I don't think
the good practice has changed
and I think technology may have
been harder parts of it and
various in.
I'm not sure people value value
it as much.
But I but I think that's the
same across society as a bit
wider people have forgotten
values of relationships and and
personal things.
You know, when I was a
wholesaler, my phone was on for
my customers pretty much round
the clock because that's how I
earn my living.
And so if I could respond and
look after them and and and
everything else I would in
service orientated business
that's we, we've seen people be
focused on other things recently
for bigger business reasons.
I can imagine, I can imagine and
and I mean and that's in a way
like that's the beauty of it
that you know, as much as we can
digitalize and make things
sufficient, effective and you
know, doing all this kind of
like economic scale, like it is
like there is this human element
that is still, you know, driving
things.
It's just that you know you need
to top it up with the system of
of habits, of good habits and
good practices that you know.
Otherwise it becomes like a bit
of a band of rock and rollers
going around the city.
You you can meet your needs for
you know a particular spirit in
in a number of ways and and you
frankly could choose and
actually quite good products low
price with no no branding.
Certainly in the UK you know we
have a lack of brand calling as
a culture but what you're going
to get drink and get served if
you don't rent call probably
won't Yeah it's not going to
kill you you know it it it may
not be the best drink ever but
it's not going to be the worst.
I just think people are missing
out so much.
Hospitality for me is all about
the people and all about the
occasion and I extend that to
our, you know, I'm really lucky
with some of our brand partners
we have and some of the ones
I've worked with over the years.
I'm friends with a lot of those.
I'm friends with competitors in
the industry.
It's unusual for that.
You don't, you don't get that in
a lot of industries.
Mangrove is in the brand
representation business.
We do that through stories, we
do that through explanations, we
do that through training.
But we've just got some
amazingly interesting people and
brand owners that you know, I I
would love to take every
consumer to visit some of our
disk deliveries.
You know, that would be the
easiest mechanic to sell out
brands because once you're there
when you're doing and you feel
the love, the dedication that
goes into making some of these
products, it's great.
And the same thing happens with
chefs and farmers and
mixologists, right?
I mean, just go into a good
quality bar and, you know, ask
the bar in there, what do you
recommend?
What's there?
What's interesting?
And there's a good chance you're
going to learn something.
You're going to find a brand or
a drink you haven't tried before
or a slant on it.
It's a living, breathing thing.
There are a lot of people out
there who do really, really
worthwhile jobs and, you know,
save lives and do and do
everything like that.
Hospitality doesn't do that, but
it it does bring a feel good
factor to people That human
connection is is the part that
technology can't, can't,
replace.
I don't want my drinks served by
a robot I don't particularly
want out of a vending machine.
I like human interaction in the
conversation.
That's all for today.
Remember that this is a two-part
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