Charles talks to us about his career with some of the top estates in the South African wine industry, about his experiences introducing South African wines to the export markets and about Darling where he now owns the popular Darling Wine Shop.

A Podcast with Holger Meier

Hylton Smith was part of the team that first introduced Windhoek beers to the Botswana market, he then moved to Durban and joined Ian and Peter Hoyer at Team Liquor Distributors to head up sales of Windhoek beers. Hylton recalls only selling a truckload of Windhoek in their first year, but only a short four years later they sold an interlink of Windhoek beers per day during the peak season.

Then in 2004, thinking that they were well on their way to becoming a real player in the liquor industry, Namibian Breweries announced the formation of Brandhouse, a joint venture with Heineken and Diageo.

Hylton opted not to become part of the new corporation and joined former Windhoek colleagues Andre Homann and Craig MacKenzie in selling Bavaria beers.

Andre Homann and a few former Windhoek guys then made an offer to purchase NMK Schulz from Norbert Schulz. NMK had the agency for Stella Artois, a brand which the beer guys hoped they could grow into a significant player in the local market.

Hylton, now a shareholder, continued working at Team Liquor Distributors.

When Ray Edwards started Tops at Spar the market started to change and in order to survive, distributors had to be able to service national chain stores.

In 2016 Hylton took on new financial partners, with funds to open branches nationally they could now service national chains such as Pick n Pay.

In 2018 Hylton was approached by Super Bock to distribute their beer in South Africa. At the time Super Bock was only available at the Liquor City stores. The brand was on a good growth trajectory, claiming to sell 15000 containers a year in Angola at the time.

Super Bock is the leading beer brand in Portugal with a market share of more than 50% The Super Bock Group is a privately held company founded in 1890 based in Porto, Portugal.

Hylton continues by sharing some interesting stories about his travels to Porto, their strategy with the brand and his journey so far. Well worth a listen!

A Podcast with Holger Meier

Today’s Guest is Jason Neal, owner of the Gauteng-based drinks distributor, Nicholson Smith, and creator of award-winning brands like Pandora’s Box wine range. Jason “grew” up in the liquor industry following in his father’s footsteps, who was Mr Ballantines Whiskey at Hiram Walker and later successfully start exporting SAB beers during the Meyer Kahn era.

Jason started working at The Cellars of Hyde Park when he was only 16 years old, Jason started working at The Cellars of Hyde Park when he was only 16 years old, thereafter he cut his entrepreneurial teeth with a Sorghum Breweries in Diepsloot.

After selling the brewery, Jason joined Boetie Rietoff at Somerset Wines and then he helped Italian billionaire, Count Riccardo Agusta, owner of Grand Provance, launch La Vie De Luc Mineral Water which is now the No 1 on consumption water in South Africa.

Nicholson Smith was started in 1997 to import Bowman’s whisky from the USA. Jason joined the company in 2005. After buying out the founding partners, Jason has been operating the business on his own since 2009. Nicholson Smith is now a complete drinks business, selling what the market demands.

https://www.nicholsonsmith.co.za/

Jason Neal is also the creator of the very successful Pandora’s Box wine range with the help of James Mckenzie, owner at Nabygelegen Private Cellar.

https://www.nicholsonsmith.co.za/wines/itemlist/category/51-pandora-s-box