We are a boutique venture with over 50 years of combined experience in enabling brands to flourish and unlocking value. Started by two proven, corporate trained founders turned entrepreneurs, with a keen eye to set the right strategic framework across multiple distribution channels, nimbleness in our approach and obsessed with excellence.
We provide a full suite of service for brands and founders throughout their entire journey; From supporting and developing an investable thesis, helping raise capital, source the right talent to unlocking sustainable growth, all the way to commercialization. We pride ourselves in embracing with thriving or underrepresented categories, building and accelerating them with our proven methodology.
With a full wholesale / distribution commercialization service, all the back office back bone support as well as all the necessary import licenses for liquor into the United States domestic market, we enable our brand partners in the Liquor/Spirits as well as Beauty space with meaningful know-how and economies of scale from the get go, allowing them to tap into the US Domestic Market, The Global Travel Retail channels as well as the most meaningful export markets across the globe for multiple categories.
Michael Gebrael is seasoned senior executive and a very passionate leader that thrives in the trenches with his team; He is one the CO-Founders and Operating Partner of Blue Caterpillar, Michael is obsessed with building and nourishing brands in the consumers goods space, always with a keen eye on brands that deliver on taste and indulgence.
Prior to starting Blue Caterpillar, he was the President and CEO of VEGA, a plant based protein powder brand that sold to WhiteWave for 550M$, under his management and vision, Vega was awarded the renowned “product of the year by Kentar group” for best protein powder. Before his journey at Vega, Michael was the CEO of Tea Forte, a luxury lifestyle tea brand globally recognized, that completely changed the notion of the tea ceremony in the US and disrupted the market place with the luxurious pyramid shaped tea bag. Michael started his career and passion for building brands in the cosmetics world, where he wore multiple hats and held several global roles at Loreal, Estee Lauder and, at Bare Minerals; which sold to Shiseido for 1.8B$, where he was responsible for all international markets as the GM/SVP.
After completing the management trainee program at Gebr. Heinemann and learning all facets of a globally active duty-free family company, working in Europe, Asia and lastly the US, he was the lead executive member of a team in 2013 bringing the company back onto the North American (Miami, FL) continent. Tasked with the establishment of a connected purchasing & distribution arm of the company in a new territory, building a team of local expertise until his departure in 2016.
Off to new adventures in 2016, this time as an entrepreneur when he co-founded a liquor distribution company in Miami.
His passion is to constantly innovate and adapt company and business approach towards all challenges as “challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them even more meaningful.”
Building categories is a core belief of Blue Caterpillar, especially underrepresented categories in Travel Retail with a huge growth potential and proven concepts in domestic markets.
Rum and especially premium Rum will enjoy significant growth over the next years and this will leave an impact on what consumers are looking for in the Spirits section of any Duty Free store.
