Milestone Beverages buys 50% stake in Mixology pre-mixed cocktails

Milestone Beverages HK Limited marked its debut at ProWein in Düsseldorf by revealing the latest addition to its portfolio — Australian ready-to-drink (RTD) craft cocktail brand The Mixology Company — of which it has acquired a 50% stake.

Milestone Beverages, based in Hong Kong, showcased its Onikishi Japanese and Taisteal Scotch whisky brands at the trade show, along with Australian wine brand Blowfish and Milestone’s Italian Atilius range. Alongside the company’s core brands, a new addition to the portfolio in the form of The Mixology Company was also on display.

Milestone purchased a stake in the Australian pre-mixed cocktails ahead of the trade show in early 2023, but officially took ownership of the brand on 1 April. The acquisition forms part of a strategy to “build and even spin-off scalable and viral brands, growing them and our customer bases organically through innovation, relationships and guerrilla tactics where needed”, Joe Milner and Damith Weerakoon, co-owners of Milestone Beverages, said.

The pair claimed they were “too late into the RTD game to build our own brand” but were keen to tap into the rising RTD category.

“Right place right time is a real thing,” the pair said of Milestone’s latest acquisition.

Sean Ekanayake co-founded Mixology in 2021, partnering with a premium local spirits producer in Melbourne, Australia. The concept behind the brand was to replicate the bar experience at home, Ekanayake has said, using Australian-made spirits and locally sourced ingredients where possible.

Mixology’s range of pre-mixed craft cocktails — which includes classic serves like the Espresso Martini, Old Fashioned, Cosmopolitan and Margarita — are packaged in shake and serve 200ml and 375ml sharing bottles.

RTDs and premium spirits have both been on the rise in recent years, and Milestone Beverages is confident it will continue on its upward trajectory. Premium cocktails, including spirits-based RTDs, Tequila and mezcal, American Whiskey, Irish whiskey and blended whiskey were the fastest growing spirits categories in 2022, according to DISCUS.

Mixology has already launched into the US, Asia and Middle East, with the partnership allowing for further global growth.