Drinks 101 is a commercial advisory platform dedicated to helping beverage founders build scalable, profitable businesses—not just brands. Focused on the realities of the drinks industry, Drinks 101 supports companies from early-stage through to multi-million dollar growth with practical, execution-led guidance.
Why Drinks 101 Exists
Most drinks businesses hit a stage where early momentum turns into operational friction. The brand is growing, but the commercial architecture hasn't kept pace. Drinks 101 exists for this inflection point.
but velocity softens across new accounts.
as volume increases without pricing discipline.
and the cost of playing grows with them.
and the founder carries more weight, not less.
Our Approach
Our work aligns to our proven 4 Way Win Framework:
Building brand equity that resonates with consumers, differentiates in-market and supports premium positioning.
Learn MoreUnderstanding who your consumer is, what they value, and how to build loyalty beyond price.
Learn MoreStrengthening retail relationships, range negotiations and channel strategy to drive sustainable sell-through.
Learn MoreProfessionalising operations, margin management and commercial governance to scale with control.
Learn MoreFounder
James “JP” Purcell is a commercial growth advisor to emerging and scaling beverage brands, known for turning founder vision into measurable business value. With experience across some of the biggest brands in Australia and the world, working for private and publicly listed companies, working on major retail accounts, and fuelling high-growth challenger brands, he brings a uniquely commercial lens to building drinks businesses that actually work at scale.
James has worked across:
Brand and Event Management
Innovation and New Product Development
Retail Account Management
Trade & Customer Marketing
Manufacturing and Supply Chain
He operates as a fractional Chief Growth Officer, working across strategy, sales, marketing, and operations to help founders move beyond guesswork and into structured growth.
His experience gives him a unique perspective on what it takes to grow with discipline at every stage.
Drinks 101 was built because James saw too many promising brands stall — not from a lack of ambition, but from a lack of commercial structure. We exist to close that gap.
TLDR: He’s abit of a unicorn, because it’s very rare to find this combination of skills and experience, while being so available for founders to work with.
Who We Work With
generating meaningful revenue and expanding distribution nationally.
ready to professionalise operations and commercial strategy.
across pricing, distribution, retail and supply chain.
who need external advisory to challenge assumptions and sharpen execution.
Our Vision
Beyond advisory, we are developing an ecosystem of tools, education and networks designed to raise the standard of commercial capability across the Australian drinks industry.
for established brands navigating growth, margin and distribution complexity.
for emerging brands building commercial foundations.
to professionalise beverage business operations.
who understand the drinks industry from the inside.
