NIO Cocktails passes ownership to The Growth Foundation with new investment

NIO Cocktails to undergo new ownership

NIO Cocktails has announced an undisclosed investment from specialist e-commerce consultant The Growth Foundation (TGF) as it looks to restructure operations and further expand its direct-to-consumer efforts.

Under the restructuring, NIO co-founders Luca Quagliano and Alessandro Palmarin will hand their roles as co-chief executives to TGF co-founder Richard Chapple, who believes there is an “opportunity” to strengthen its direct-to-consumer position.

The ‘letter-box packaging’ drinks brand was launched in the UK in 2019 after being founded in Italy by Quagliano and Palmarin in 2017.

Since its debut, the brand has claimed to become a leading spirits provider in many well-known retailers, hotels, and travel ports.

Chapple said: “Currently spirits under-index in ecommerce, and there is a huge opportunity to grow that performance.

“NIO is perfectly positioned to lead this with its innovative, sophisticated packaging overcoming the challenges of delivering heavy glass bottles that hold eCommerce back.

“We’re excited to be leading this next phase of NIO’s development.”

TGF was founded by Chapple and Sarah Jasper-Baker in 2021, bringing together a total of 40 years of experience in the e-commerce industry.

In a joint statement, Quagliano and Palmarin said: “We’re so proud to have grown NIO from an idea in our house to a company with its own state-of-the-art production facility, over 50 employees and direct-to-consumer operations in UK, Italy and Germany, and distribution in many export markets.

“After the success of launching such an innovative new product, now is the time for NIO to take the next steps in achieving its ambition of becoming the leading premium ready-to-drink cocktail brand around the world, and The Growth Foundation is the perfect partner to do this.”