20 years ago, the dream of two young entrepreneurs gave rise to what is today the Europe's largest bartender schoolThe history of Cocktail Team is made of passion, resilience, and vision. In this edition of Leader's Talks by Volse, Hugo and Lúcia share how they transformed obstacles into opportunities and created a true global community dedicated to the art of the bar.
1. Before we enter the world of cocktails, can you tell us a bit about your initial journey?
Hugo: I started out in the sport as a highly competitive volleyball player. It was a passion that occupied my life but unfortunately I suffered several injuries that forced me to rethink my future. It was a difficult period, because I had to leave behind what I thought would be my career, as a volleyball coach or teacher.
But at the same time, a new door opened and I discovered that the bar and restaurant technician course existed and I attended it for three years. Here I began to understand the reason for things and I realized that I had found my true vocation.
2. How was the transition to this new area?
Hugo: In the beginning, everything was new, and I started doing some internships at the Hotel Tivoli and the Hotel Alfa, the current Hotel Corinthia. These internships immediately gave us a good reputation and after them, I immediately started working as a bar chef at Marina de Cascais, where I was there for two years.
After this period, I decided to leave because I realized that working in a hotel bar and a street bar was totally different, considering the time we had available to prepare each of the cocktails.
So I decided to bet even more on my training and that's when I heard about a course in England, where bar courses already had another level and I ended up taking two courses simultaneously, the bar techniques course and the flair bartending course, which are the well-known “juggling” with bottles and shakers.
3. And did these formations change your career?
Hugo: Without a doubt, when I returned from England and returned to work in the same bar, I returned with a much more professional and structured vision. I started to apply what I learned and the results were impressive, I managed to triple the amount of my billing, to give you an example, my monthly bill went from 500€ to 1500€.
This led to bar orders also increasing at the same rate and, consequently, the brands wanted to understand what was going on and it was at that same time that invitations to work with some of them began to appear.
4. Was that when you started working as a beverage brand ambassador?
Hugo: Yes, it was following these invitations to work with some brands that I became an ambassador.
I first represented Cardhu (a single malt whiskey), making me the brand's youngest ambassador in the world. I had the privilege of traveling to Scotland for training and it was a unique and very enriching experience, where I was able to experience everything that was seen in books at the time, live! How to smell the smells, see the dedication of the people and also the leadership style, which was completely different from what existed in our country. There existed a relationship of great closeness and respect between employees and owner.
A year after working with Cardhu, I had the opportunity to sign the first exclusive contract for Absolut Vodka in Portugal, the first time that something had happened in Portugal. It was an enormous recognition and also a great responsibility, as it was the face of an international brand.
It was also during the duration of this project, which was one year, that the idea of creating the Cocktail Team came up.
5. And can you tell us in more detail how the idea for the creation of the Cocktail Team came about?
Hugo: As I indicated, it was during the project with Absolut Vodka that I had the idea of creating the Cocktail Team, because it was also at this time that I met Lúcia, who is my life partner and also my business partner.
Lúcia developed the project that would become the Cocktail Team during her postgraduate degree in Marketing and we decided it was time to create something of our own. Thus, the Cocktail Team was born, on March 21, 2005.
We wanted to build a solid project, with three well-defined areas: the bartender school, the organization of events and the bar consultancy.
6. What were the biggest challenges in the initial phase?
Hugo: It wasn't easy at first! There were just three people in the company, me, Lúcia and a receptionist. And the first six months were very difficult, because I thought that being the first ambassador of such a renowned beverage brand, several doors would open, but the truth is that it didn't happen.
As major challenges, I even identify the skepticism of the market, the lack of credibility attributed to us because we were so young, and also the lack of financial support.
Despite all these challenges, our resilience and motivation was what kept us going!
We often heard that this was nothing more than a fad and that we would not have a future, but we bet on innovation, we differentiated ourselves by the quality of training and events, and little by little we were conquering our space in the market.
After those six months, the turning point came when, after several attempts, we managed to get a meeting with a large beverage company and the first business opportunity appeared.
7. And when did they feel that the company had taken the leap?
Hugo: We felt like we took the leap when we began to be sought after not only in Portugal, but also by international brands and clients.
The bartender school grew exponentially, our events became increasingly premium and we began to win international awards.
Today we can proudly say that we have the largest bar school in Europe and one of the most awarded companies in the sector.
8. How many people are currently part of the Cocktail Team?
Hugo: Currently we have an internal team of 11 people, two in Marketing, two in the administrative sector, two accounts and career developers, one responsible at the school, one responsible for events and one in consulting. In the administration, it's me and Lúcia.
But our network goes far beyond that, in other words, our former students are spread all over the world, working in luxury hotels, reference bars and large multinationals. Many of them are still connected to the Cocktail Team and collaborate with us on events or consulting projects. I would say that we have created a true global community.
9. In terms of events, what type of experiences do you offer?
Hugo: We organize essentially luxury events, meaning our symbol is already associated with this type of event. And we always seek to offer personalized experiences.
From product launches, brand activations, private parties, weddings and even large international projects, where I can give the example of the largest suspended bar in the world, in Dubai, where our team was present.
I believe that what sets us apart is the detail, each event is designed to be unique, combining signature cocktails, design, excellent service and a spectacular component that always surprises guests.
10. You mentioned that they have already been present in international markets, can we know which ones they worked in?
Hugo: In addition to Dubai, as I mentioned, we have already carried out projects in Spain, France, Brazil, Ireland and England, all over the world.
We mainly work with premium beverage brands and clients who are looking for something different. We are proud to take the name of Portugal out there and to show the quality of what we do.
11. And in terms of consulting, what type of work do they do?
Hugo: Our consulting arm exists essentially to provide support and help bars, restaurants and hotels to structure their beverage offerings.
This ranges from the design of the cocktail menu, the formation of the teams, the choice of equipment, to the operational monitoring. The goal is always to increase business profitability and improve customer experience.
12. How do you consider your current leadership style?
Hugo: I consider it very important to be aware of what people feel, I take care of my team, I value individual growth, I create real career opportunities, I believe in leading and setting an example, that is, I am always on the ground to train, to serve, to learn and to inspire rather than to command. I see leadership as the art of inspiring and transforming. My style is based on being close to people, understanding what they feel and helping them to grow, creating real opportunities for development and career. I always lead by example, because I believe that this is the only way to generate trust and commitment. I am on the ground to support, to train, to serve and also to learn, to show that together we are stronger. My mission is to inspire each member of the team to believe in their potential and to achieve extraordinary results, with passion, courage and purpose.
13. We would like to know if there are any curiosities about the company or about you (Hugo and Lúcia) that you have never shared?
Lucia: We have a funny story, which happened the very first day we were going to open the Cocktail Team. We were on our way to school, a journey that took about 5 minutes from our house, and we ended up having an argument for a minimum reason. We never argued and it happened right then and there. My reaction was to share, it was Hugo's dream and not mine. But we quickly understood each other and it was a great story to tell.
14. If you had to leave advice to those starting out in the sector or an inspirational message, what would it be?
Lucia: I think that there are two big words that a CEO has to focus on, or at least, that's what we focused on. One is passion and the other is resilience! I would say never give up, even when obstacles seem insurmountable.
This is a demanding sector, but also full of opportunities. With dedication, training and passion, it is possible to build a solid career and, who knows, even a successful company!
