Our Clients
About Us
Founded in 2014 by father and son team Richard and John Irving, Drinks Solutions is a boutique consultancy specialising in growing alcohol brands and scaling distribution and manufacturing businesses across APAC.
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With over 50 years of combined experience in the region — spanning senior roles within major multinationals and hands‑on leadership in fast growth startups — we understand what it takes to win in this highly competitive and complex region.
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Supported by an extensive regional network of manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and local specialists, we help clients convert complexity into opportunity, delivering innovative and sustainable pathways to growth across APAC.
Managing Director
Richard Irving
Richard is a highly experienced General Manager and Commercial Director with a proven record of building and scaling start‑up distribution businesses across the region. He brings deep, hands‑on expertise in securing, negotiating, and managing distributor partnerships, and has led multiple end‑to‑end market‑entry projects — from commercial strategy and route‑to‑market design to securing brand owners, navigating regulatory requirements, and establishing sustainable growth platforms.
He also brings extensive experience in new product development, having managed complete NPD cycles from feasibility assessment and brand concept creation through to leading multi‑functional teams to bring new products successfully to market.
Director
John Irving
As former MD for DIAGEO ventures Asia, and a career in the alcoholic drinks industry spanning 3 decades, John has a
wealth of senior level management experience building businesses in Asia.
He has a passion for developing people and specialises in executive coaching, general management, transformation & change management and sales development consulting services
Services
At Drinks Solutions we realise complexity in APAC isn’t a barrier—it’s opportunity.
We help alcohol brands, distributors, and manufacturers seize it.
Testimonials
“Drinks Solutions was engaged by our Indonesian manufacturing partner to build their business from the ground up and worked closely with Campari as an integrated project partner to deliver the transition to local production.
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They led the value chain analysis and feasibility assessment for the new RTM strategy and also advised Campari on the new commercial plans for the locally produced SKYY Vodka. ​This comprehensive and collaborative approach enabled the business to scale rapidly, growing from approximately 1,000 cases annually to over 28,000 cases within three years, fundamentally transforming Campari’s presence in the Indonesian market.”
Daniel Schwalbe - MD SE Asia & India, Campari