Will Pitchforth
Will has nearly 20 years of drinks industry experience and has worked in over 50 countries to develop brands across wine, spirits and champagne in both large MNC alcohol companies, and SMEs. Will was the Head of Commercial for Bladnoch Distillery for over five years and led a period of remarkable growth, with multiple awards won for brand and commercial excellence. He started Cheval Rouge to get involved with brands starting their journey, and driving commercial excellence by working directly with founders to realise the potential from international growth, and a more strategic procurement process.
Peter Park
Business Development - Asia
Peter is entrepreneurial addition to the Cheval Rouge Team, focused on developing Export for our clients in Asian Markets. A qualified Commercial Lawyer, Peter also runs a Food Export business focused on Taiwan and South Korea.
Dee Firmin
Team Assistant
Dee supports the Cheval Rouge team and clients with administration and scheduling.
Marcus Pickering
Business Development - UK/Europe
Marcus is the founder of Pickerings Gin and Summerhall distillery with a long and storied career in hospitality and the drinks industry. Marcus supports Cheval Rouge brand owners with on the ground support in the UK and Europe
Friends we work with
Ben Davidson
Drinks Industry Veteran Ben provides his learned palate to brands looking to supercharge their tasting notes and product descriptions. A former Australian Bartender of the year, and a Keeper of the Quaich, Ben knows his drinks better than most and has trained hundreds of bartenders with his passion for drinks.
SUPERDROP
Superdrop is the brand and product creation team behind Delgados Tequila Soda, Idle Hour Vodka, and many more drinks brands that are tailor made to identified consumer needs. Based in Australia, Cheval Rouge and Superdrop work together on NPD in the RTD and light spirit categories.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society
This Global Society of tens of thousands of whisky lovers was founded in 1983 as a way to discover casks of exceptional whisky from some of the great distilleries of Scotland. Now expanding to many other categories, Cheval Rouge works with the SMWS to bring events and partnerships to life.
Edinburgh Bottlers and Co Pack
Cofounded by Matt Gammell, Marcus Pickering, and Will from Cheval Rouge, EB&C is a full service drinks manufacturing partner, specialising in new product creation, private labels and craft production volumes.
Alex Tomasi
Marketing and product design specialist Alex provides advice on packaging design, brand hierarchy, brand identity, and the NPD process for several of Cheval Rouge’s clients. With over 15 years experience in luxury goods and the drinks industry, her expertise is highly valuable for new and established brands.
Melrose Drover
Founded in 1873 in Leith Edinburgh, revived in 2024 by Will and Marcus at Cheval Rouge, this storied blender and bottler has returned to develop new products for EU and UK based clients.