Duncan Baldwin: How 100Proof Will Help Grow the On-Premise

In July, three wholesalers, including Liquid Mix, Paramount Liquor and Liquid Specialty Beverages joined forces to form Australia’s largest independent on-premise drinks specialist. 100Proof will act as a one-stop drinks solution for the channel, delivering extensive product ranging, marketing support, staff training and other tools to over 5,000 restaurants, bars and hotels nationwide. The company will be led by Duncan Baldwin as General Manager and Directors - Paul Murphy (Liquid Mix), Mark Rowe (Paramount Liquor) and Darren Terlich (Liquid Specialty Beverages), who bring over 70 years of combined experience to 100Proof.

Here, drinks bulletin speaks with Duncan about how 100Proof plans to support and grow the on-premise channel. Duncan explains 100Proof’s vision for the channel and its unique proposition for restaurants, bars and hotels across the country.

drinks bulletin: How did the concept of 100Proof come about?

Duncan Baldwin: We could see how on-premise specialists in the US and UK were growing the category and I had personal experience of that from my time at Matthew Clark. Australia’s on-premise venues are at least as good as their international counterparts, but the wholesale market here is mostly geared towards retail outlets. We could see that consolidating our resources was the best way to help on-premise venues access the right products, grow their business and create a better night out for the people that visit them.

db: Why is 100Proof’s role as an advisor rather than a regular wholesaler important for the on-premise channel?

DB: We have a passion for helping on-premise venues grow their businesses and create incredible experiences for their customers. Storing and dispatching boxes on time is great, but in reality it’s now just a mandatory baseline. Our value proposition will include helping our customers to build beverage lists, train their staff, access real time consumer and category data, leverage technology tools and create fantastic events.

db: Will 100Proof be looking to continue to grow in terms of the products it ranges and the number of restaurants, bars and hotels it works with?

DB: We will continue to stock the same amount of lines, but will focus on more specific channel ranging and constantly reviewing and evolving our ranges in line with our customers’ needs. Our core range will be more defined and focused on a mix of premium, super premium, independent and mainstream, in line with the different on-premise segments.

We will continue to be specialists in spirits and beer, but wine will become a much bigger focus for us. We can see a great opportunity for many restaurants, bars and hotels to diversify and upscale their wine offering. We will have wine specialists built into the business and we will build a range of around 600 wine products. This range will include well-known brands as well as smaller independent regional producers, which should see our wine volume double.

At the moment, Paramount, Liquid Specialty and Liquid Mix work with close to 6,000 venues. This is significant, but isn’t a complete representation of all the on-premise liquor licences around Australia. So the opportunity to help more fantastic venues is big and very exciting.

db: How can trade start a conversation with 100Proof?

DB: Talk to your local contact from Paramount, Liquid Specialty Beverages and Liquid Mix. They’re looking forward to hearing from you.