The Brief
Nicholson are a famous, heritage drinks brand who now make a wide range of delicious, pre-batched cocktails as well as selling spirits by the bottle. After launching their cocktails to a number of bars and restaurants in Antigua and Mallorca over the previous 18 months, they approached AOK Events to see if we could help them break into the UK market. Using our network of venues including rights holders, sports stadia, hotels, hospitality events and private venues, we consulted on the best way forward.
After a six week consultancy period, we put forward five venues for consideration and after a couple of meetings, we struck a deal with Lusty Glaze Beach in Newquay, Cornwall. Nicholson co-invested in the build of a new cocktail bar, installed 22 taps around the venue, as well as sponsored Lusty Glaze’s famous beach rugby tournament in August.
The Venue
Lusty Glaze is a privately-owned, picture perfect beach, located between Newquay and Watergate Bay in Cornwall. It is brilliantly run and already had an excellent bar and restaurant operation, which is open daily, and throughout the year it hosts a variety of public and private events including concerts, sundowner sessions, sports events, cinema nights, weddings and corporate events.
The owner of Lusty Glaze is an out and out entrepreneur and she was excited at the prospect of upgrading her cocktail offering and building a beautiful, stand alone cocktail bar. Having a luxury drinks partner on board was also attractive for the investment into the beach to help Lusty Glaze cement its reputation as one of the very best beaches in the UK. We launched the Nicholson X Lusty Glaze Cocktail Bar in July 2024.
What we did
- Extensive consultancy in the three month period leading up to the launch
- VIP Guest List for the Launch event, including a number of social media influencers
- Nicholson X Lusty Glaze branding across the site
- Staff training
- Canapes
- LOTS of complimentary cocktails
- DJ entertainment
- Gift bags
- Event management
The Results
On a beautiful Summer’s evening, the beach was already busy and as the cocktails flowed and the DJ started playing, our guests and the beach at large just started dancing and having a party!
One of the guests was overheard telling the Owner, that she had created Ibiza at Lusty Glaze. Which is the highest compliment possible. Over the weekend there were dozens of posts on Instagram and TikTok and bar takings for cocktails has already surpassed expectations in the 7 days following the launch.