Paramount Liquor is celebrating a period of extreme growth and development, more than doubling its earnings since 2020, leading to $500 million in revenue for the first time ever.

Founded by Mark and Christine Rowe in 1992 out of a garage in Melbourne’s inner-north, Paramount is now run by their
two sons Nathan and Leigh Rowe who over the past five years have grown Paramount to be Australia’s largest
independently-owned liquor wholesaler, with warehouses in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and, most
recently, Queensland.

Last week family-owned company marked its half-billion milestone during its second annual conference in Hobart, which brought together more than 100 staff, suppliers and customers.

The conference was an opportunity for suppliers and customers across all categories to intimately engage with the Paramount team, share drinks and gain insights into the inner workings of Paramount and discover new ways to work together.

The theme for the conference, Served Neat, was to strip back all the content to its bare essentials. This allowed
attendees to get clear and succinct answers about the direction of the business and Paramount’s plans for the next
five years.

The event was held at The Hanging Garden, a beautiful cultural hub in Hobart. Paramount CEO Nathan Rowe opened the conference by revealing what goes on within the walls of Paramount Liquor – how they performed during the recent year along with what the future holds for their family business.

Sean Forsyth, Paramount Liquor’s NSW General Manager then hosted the Frontline panel and was joined by Alex Boon from Pearl Diver Cocktails and Oysters, Sarah Porietti from Maybe Sammy and Storm Evans from Cantina OK! to discuss what is happening at the forefront of the hospitality industry.

The industry experts shared what consumers are looking for, trends for the future and how their bars are catering to these needs. Importantly they also shared their thoughts on how suppliers can develop and execute the right programs and category solutions to build a world’s best drinks culture.

Anders Sörman-Nilsson, an awarded futurist, author and speaker, delivered a keynote on the future of the world, as shaped by technology, particularly AI.

His insights were thought-provoking and challenging, posing questions of ethics, how to best harness the emerging technology of today and what the impact will be to workforces worldwide. Attendees also undertook an AI workshop with Noah Borensztajn, Director of Pitch Agency in Melbourne.

Attendees were given insights and the first steps to take with the technology, underscoring the importance of learning
to interact with the tools now to reap the rewards later. Borensztajn also detailed how Pitch and Paramount Liquor are
working together to integrate AI tools into their workflow, to eliminate menial tasks to give time back to support their
staff.

Paramount Liquor’s National Business Manager Gabriel Presutto hosted a second panel of senior members from Australia’s key hospitality businesses. Annette Lacey the Group Beverage Manager Solotel, Cameron Northway, the owner, operator and general manager of venues Rocker, Beverly Rooftop, Loti as well as drinks agency Sweet & Chilli and online retailer Cocktail Porter and Daisy Tulley, general manager of the Mucho Group (Tio’s, The Cliff Dive, Cantina OK!, Bar Planet and OK! Margarita Seltzer) took part in the panel, sharing their insights and discussing opportunities for growth.

The conference concluded with highly anticipated Paramount Awards, with Carlton & United Breweries taking home
three awards, culminating with Supplier of the Year. Best Sales Person of the Year was awarded to Hannah Ferguson
Key Account Manager in South Australia, Huw Wilson Key Account Manager in Victoria was crowned the Employee of
the Year and Lachlan Britt Commercial Partnership Manager took home the coveted Mark Rowe MVP trophy.