Strategic Advisory for Beverage Alcohol

Grow, scale, or sell your beverage alcohol brand - with an operator who's been on both sides of the table.

Thirsty Insights brings years of managing multi-billion dollar brand portfolios and evaluating deals from the investor seat to emerging spirits, wine, beer, and RTD brands. Growth strategy, M&A advisory, insights & analytics, fractional leadership.

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Matt Rice
Founder

20+ years scaling bev alc brands inside one of the world's largest portfolios, plus a decade evaluating deals from the strategic-buyer seat. Now advising emerging brands one-on-one.

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20+
Years in Bev Alc
9
Closed Investments
Operator
+ Investor
Both Sides of the Table
What We Do

Four services, one playbook: scale brands that win.

Whether you're raising capital, preparing to sell, entering new markets, or figuring out what comes after launch - we bring the operator discipline and investor rigor that emerging beverage alcohol brands need to break through.

01 / SERVICE

Growth Strategy

Comprehensive strategic roadmaps beyond initial launch - corporate strategy, route-to-market, consumer analytics, pricing and positioning. We pressure-test the plan so it survives contact with the real world.

Best for: Brands past the proof-of-concept stage that need a real strategic roadmap to scale.

02 / SERVICE

M&A Advisory

Acquisition and divestiture support across due diligence, financial modeling, brand assessment, and integration planning. We evaluate every deal like a strategic investor - because we've been one.

Best for: Brands, investors, or strategics evaluating a beverage alcohol transaction.

03 / SERVICE

Emerging Brand Guidance

Full-spectrum retained advisory covering strategy, operations, analytics, marketing, and market entry. Think of it as a part-time executive team for your first three years.

Best for: Founders and early-stage teams building a beverage alcohol brand from the ground up.

04 / SERVICE

Fractional Leadership

Senior strategic roles - Chief Strategy Officer, VP of Growth - delivered at a fraction of full-time cost. Plug in, deliver results, scale with the brand.

Best for: Emerging brands generating $1M-$25M in revenue that need senior firepower without the C-suite overhead.

Leading voice in the beverage industry

Strategy and insight that shape the bev alc conversation.

Original research, weekly commentary, and industry conversations.

6K+
LinkedIn Followers

Leading Industry Commentary

Weekly takes on brand strategy, scaling, dealflow, and category dynamics - followed by an audience of emerging brand builders, investors, and bev alc operators. Top posts regularly get over 150,000 impressions.

Read top posts →
4x
Monthly

The Quench Report

Original newsletter research and articles on category evolution, category trends, M&A signals, and what's actually moving in bev alc - read by operators, founders, and investors across the industry.

Read the latest →
Regular
Podcast and Event Appearances

Podcasts & Media

Featured guest on leading bev alc industry shows discussing the operator-investor playbook, category premiumization, and emerging brand strategy.

Business of Drinks - Coming Soon

Featured Insights

Recent Analysis
M&A

How Sazerac Became The #1 Spirits Supplier in the U.S.


Last week, we reported that Sazerac had acquired Western Son Vodka, a Texas-based distillery known for its 10x distilled, gluten-free vodka made from 100% American corn. What many don't realize: Sazerac is now the largest spirits company in the U.S. by volume. Privately owned, the company keeps a low profile, but its growth tells a bold story.

Oct 2025 · 5 min read Read →
Category Evolution

How Leading Brand Marketshare Evolves Over Time


High Noon today commands nearly 40% market share, a level of dominance that's fairly rare in beverage alcohol. A #1 brand holding 40% of a category only happens once or twice a decade, typically in rapidly emerging segments.

Nov 2025 · 6 min read Read →
Corporate Strategy

The Scaled Brand Platform


Last Thursday, Celsius Holdings reported Q4 and full-year 2025 results, and they were a blockbuster. Full-year revenue surged +86%, with Q4 alone up an eye-popping +117%. Investors rewarded the print immediately: Celsius stock popped +10% at the open, capping a +105% run over the past twelve months. The catalyst behind this acceleration? Celsius's deliberate evolution from a single brand into a scaled brand platform. At CAGNY a few weeks ago, they laid it out in a single slide.

Mar 2026 · 7 min read Read →
View all insights →
Who We Work With

Built for the full lifecycle of a bev alc brand.

From founder-led startups validating their concept to established brands preparing for exit - we meet you where you are and build what's next.

Emerging Brands

Founder-led spirits, wine, beer, and RTD brands building the foundation for scale.

Mid-Stage Operators

Brands doing $1M-$25M in revenue that need strategic firepower to break through.

Investors & Strategics

Family offices, strategic buyers, and PE firms evaluating beverage alcohol deals.

Why Thirsty Insights

An unusual combination: deep operator muscle, investor-grade rigor.

Most bev alc advisors have either operator experience or investor experience. Thirsty Insights has both - accumulated across 20+ years managing billion-dollar brand portfolios and evaluating hundreds of deals from the buy side.

Operator DNA

20+ years building, launching, and scaling brands inside one of the largest beverage alcohol companies in the world. We've done the work - we're not just advising on it.

Investor Lens

Evaluated deals from the strategic buyer's seat for over a decade. We know exactly what acquirers look for, what they pay for, and what makes them walk.

Pattern Recognition

We've seen hundreds of bev alc plays win and lose. That pattern library translates directly into sharper decisions for the brands we advise - faster.

Operational Discipline

Strategy that can't be executed isn't strategy. We pressure-test every recommendation against operational reality - supply chain, three-tier, compliance, team.

Successful Track Record

Two decades of bev alc wins - built, scaled, and sold.

A snapshot of the work: portfolio brands built to billion-dollar scale, exits guided across the finish line, and emerging brands currently in the chair.

Investment -> Exit
Undisclosed
Strategic Acquisition

Bardstown Bourbon Company

Led Minority investment in 2016. Full acquisition (exit) in 2022 by Pritzker Private Capital.

2016
M&A buy-side
$160M
Transaction Value

High West Distillery

Evaluated category fit and deal structure from the strategic buyer seat- led corporate strategy evaluation

2016
M&A sell-side
$810M
Transaction Value

Wine Divestiture

Led multiple key workstreams in the sale of over 30 wine brands to E&J Gallo

2021

Early Stage Advising (Selected Current Clients)

Emerging Brands

Closed Minority Investments (Selection)

Minority Investments

Brands Managed at Scale

Operator Track Record
Let's Talk

Tell us about your brand - we'll tell you how we can help.

Every engagement starts with a no-cost, no-pressure conversation. We'll ask questions, share what we've seen, and figure out together whether there's a fit.

  • Founder-led, senior-only advisory - no junior handoff
  • Retainer, project, and fractional-role models available
  • Engagements sized to fit early-stage and mid-stage budgets
  • Response within one business day

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