Gold Coast trio celebrate the success of business Mr Consistent
Three Gold Coast mates reveal how their take-home cocktail company has grown despite the pandemic. READ THE REPORT
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THREE hospitality-loving Gold Coast mates who launched a take-home cocktail company when the pandemic hit are toasting a year of huge growth.
Mr Consistent founders Jarrad Bell, Michael Sebire and Jeremy Davidson say their production capacity sits at 12,000-15,000 a week but will soar up to 70,000 at a new facility. It has been one of the rare success stories to come out of the pandemic, with demand for premium-sourced, quality pre-mixed drinks soaring due to lockdowns and house parties.
More than 400 stockists Australia wide plus venues themselves sell their core range of margarita, cosmo, sours and bloody mary plus a seasonal range.
The trio, who years earlier launched popular multi-pronged Palm Beach bar-restaurant The Collective, have combined individual skillsets to get Mr Consistent fizzing.
Mr Bell handles branding and design, Mr Sebire has an extensive cocktail bartending history whilst Mr Davidson also has broad hospitality experience including owning multiple venues.
The latter pair first met six years ago working at Surfers Paradise burger bar Brooklyn Depot before joining forces at the Collective and now Mr Consistent. They are now joined by 60 staff.
PORTIA LARGE: How did you become Mr Consistent business partners?
JEREMY DAVIDSON: One day at The Collective, I asked both to join me for a meeting, where I pitched my initial concept for a cocktail company that made it easy for people to make great quality cocktails for venues and at home. From there we fleshed the concept out further and all developed it into what it is.
PL: When did you realise you were onto a winner?
JD: The fat lady isn’t singing yet. There is lots of hard work and things we need to execute before celebrating completely. That said, I’ve always believed this was a winning recipe for a business. But the moment it all felt like we were turning from ‘garage operation’ into an actual business was when we got our forklift for the warehouse. Surely a business that needs a forklift is going places.
PL: How long from idea to tangible product?
JARRAD BELL: It was about 18 months from the day Jeremy approached Mikey and I with the idea, to the day we launched on April 2, 2020. There was a lot of taste-testing, drawing, and design of the packaging and brand.
MIKEY SEBIRE: It was Jeremy’s idea. I was running the bar at The Collective which has a 400-seat capacity so when it heaved, it really heaved. I had put together a cocktail list designed to be prep-heavy and production-light so we could create amazing, complex drinks in the full swing of a heavy service. Jeremy saw the potential in marketing good quality, pre-batched cocktails to people or venues that didn’t necessarily have the skill-set or desire to develop and train the skill-set.
PL: What was the impact of the pandemic?
MS: At the risk of sounding callous to millions put through the wringer by COVID, it was all of our planets aligning. When the nation was locked down, if anyone wanted cocktails, they had to make them themselves, and taking the guesswork out of making great cocktails is us in a nutshell.
PL: What are the keys to your success so far?
MS: We all have our own niche. I can’t do what Jarrad does, he can’t do what I do and neither of us can do what Jeremy does. If we were three bartenders or three businessmen we’d be constantly stepping on each other’s toes.
PL: How did the name Mr Consistent come about?
MS: I’ve always seen consistency as the cornerstone of any bar operation worth its salt – there’s nothing worse than an amazing dining or drinking experience and going back with mates in tow, having raved about how good it was, only to be let down.
PL: Point of difference?
JD: We play in a market where traditionally the product has been pretty crap, and people are pre-conditioned to believe a “cocktail mix” is sugary and cordial-like. We are re-educating people that this does not have to be the case.
‘Three-day party’: GC500 concert line-up unveiled
GC500 bosses will unveil a “great spectacle” for this year’s race which will dramatically shake up the event, as the first plans for night racing on the streets of Surfers Paradise have been revealed.
Road closed, power out after mystery power poles collapse
A busy northern Gold Coast road has been closed in both directions and homes are without electricity after power poles came down, with Energex investigating the cause of the incident. Latest details.