Chris Harrison says it began with a single pot on a range. He and two highschool buddies launched Liber & Co., a producer of premium cocktail syrups, with that tiny check batch in 2011 in Austin, Texas.
Quick ahead to 2026, and batches are actually in 1,500-gallon tanks and bought worldwide to eating places, bars, and shoppers. However the tradition stays hands-on, do-it-yourself, and learn-by-doing.
Chris first appeared on the podcast in 2022. In our latest dialog, he shared the corporate’s origins, sourcing techniques, development plans, and extra. Our complete audio is embedded beneath. The transcript is edited for readability and size.
Eric Bandholz: Who’re you, and what do you do?
Chris Harrison: I’m a co-founder of Liber & Co. We make premium non-alcoholic cocktail syrups for bars, eating places, espresso retailers, and residential shoppers. We’re based mostly in Georgetown, Texas, close to Austin, and deal with virtually every little thing in-house: manufacturing, warehousing, advertising, ecommerce, wholesale, and even worldwide gross sales.
Our founding crew grew up collectively in the identical small Texas city. We’re the identical age, went to the identical highschool, and got here from related blue-collar backgrounds. We didn’t have a giant skilled community or capital to outsource every little thing, so if one thing wanted to be carried out, we realized to do it ourselves.
We’re additionally meals folks. You’ll be able to’t outsource being a foodie or understanding taste. Even one of the best cooks are hands-on within the kitchen, tasting, adjusting, and refining. That mindset formed Liber & Co. from the start. We wished to be near the product to know the elements, sourcing, and taste growth firsthand. That do-it-yourself tradition grew to become a part of our identification.
Bandholz: How did you be taught manufacturing, transferring from a kitchen to a producing facility?
Harrison: It’s an extended, incremental journey. We relied on analysis and trial and error. We began with a small inventory pot on a range, then moved to a 25-gallon pan, then a 200-gallon tank, and now we function a number of 1,500-gallon tanks.
That gradual development was vital. You’ll be able to’t try an excessive amount of with out placing the enterprise in danger. If we had jumped straight from a kitchen setup to our present scale, we’d have made far costlier errors. Iterating step-by-step gave us time to know what labored and what didn’t. There aren’t many shortcuts once you’re constructing one thing bodily.
Our product class additionally made issues tougher. In contrast to breweries, which frequently observe well-established scaling paths, there wasn’t a transparent blueprint for cocktail syrups. That meant plenty of unbiased examine, testing tools, ordering samples, and experimenting with processes. We made errors alongside the way in which, which have been a part of the educational curve.
Manufacturing your personal product limits capability. You’ll be able to’t promote greater than you possibly can bodily make. There’s no co-manufacturer to soak up demand — you’re the bottleneck. That was very true within the early days.
Early on, we did no matter it took to meet orders. I spent 18 hours straight within the kitchen greater than as soon as to fill massive orders for H-E-B, the grocery chain. It was guide work: lengthy days, minimal breaks, and simply pushing by. 13 years later, we’re grateful we now not need to function that approach.
Bandholz: How do you discover ingredient suppliers?
Harrison: Most of our sourcing has come from analysis. That features plenty of Googling, utilizing ChatGPT and Gemini, and contacting suppliers instantly. We sometimes ship an in depth request for proposal outlining who we’re, what we’d like, and our product specs. Then we ask if they’ll meet these necessities, present documentation, and ship samples. From there, we check and consider.
We solid a large web geographically. With ginger, for instance, we checked out suppliers throughout Africa, China, Vietnam, and Hawaii earlier than in the end selecting a Peruvian supply. Some leads come from phrase of mouth. Somebody may say, “I noticed nice ginger in Peru.” I’ll observe down the producer by Google or LinkedIn. That truly occurred.
It takes persistence. My background is in biology, so I get pleasure from entering into the weeds, so to talk. We additionally attempt to preserve backup suppliers. Recent produce is unpredictable; pineapple crops suffered globally this yr, driving up costs. A frozen backup provide helped easy prices, however sourcing isn’t straightforward or assured.
Bandholz: Is frozen produce higher than contemporary?
Harrison: In lots of circumstances, sure, frozen could be higher. Farmers can wait till fruit reaches peak ripeness earlier than harvesting. For one thing like raspberries, they’ll check sugar content material the day of harvest utilizing a refractometer. They actually crush the fruit and measure Brix, the dissolved-sugar stage. The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration even publishes authorised Brix ranges for numerous fruits, similar to peaches, pomegranates, and raspberries.
Farmers goal to hit these targets as a result of that’s the place taste, aroma, and sweetness are finest. But it surely comes from ripening on the vine. As soon as harvested, the fruit have to be used instantly or preserved. Freezing is likely one of the finest methods to lock in that peak high quality.
Frozen storage requires capital. Chilly storage and refrigerated transportation are costly, however the tradeoff is consistency and high quality. The frozen provide chain has expanded considerably. We’re seeing extra funding in large-scale frozen services throughout the nation. Even in central Texas, corporations are constructing new frozen warehouses. We use one in North Austin.
In the event you’re severe about sourcing high-quality meals elements, the frozen chilly chain is commonly the most suitable choice.
Plus, we sometimes buy small parts. Giant corporations similar to Smucker’s purchase in huge bulk. We like shopping for from cooperatives of many smaller, unbiased farms. Sure areas develop crops naturally nicely. For raspberries, that’s the U.S. Pacific Northwest, elements of Washington and Oregon.
These areas have family-run farms, typically third-generation operations, managing anyplace from 20 to 200 acres. Round them are many related farms, all rising the identical crop in the identical local weather. That creates a powerful community impact: constant climate, shared data, and dependable high quality throughout the area.
As a result of these farms stay unbiased, you keep away from a number of the downsides of enormous, consolidated operations. There’s much less strain to chop corners, harvest early, or sacrifice high quality to maximise margins. In our expertise, the cooperative mannequin prioritizes long-term high quality and sustainability.
We would purchase one or two truckloads of fruit per yr — roughly 40,000 to 80,000 kilos. A cooperative, in contrast, could deal with 400 or 500 truckloads in a single harvest. Being a small purchaser reduces danger. If we relied on a single farm for every little thing, we’d be much more susceptible to produce disruptions.
Bandholz: How do you propose to evolve the model?
Harrison: We don’t really feel restricted. We’ve explored packaging codecs past bottles, which we at present use for syrups. Cans are a pure extension for cocktails, mocktails, and even hashish drinks. From a formulation, sourcing, and meals security perspective, we may make these merchandise. Packaging is commonly the costliest a part of items. It could actually really feel like a constraint, however it’s extra about funding and logistics than functionality.
At our scale, outsourcing packaging codecs is feasible. Specialised producers can deal with canning at scale. The first concerns are unit economics and lack of management. That’s a philosophical query as a lot as a enterprise one.
Total, we see alternatives to develop each vertically and horizontally. We are able to deepen what we already do with syrups or increase into new codecs, product varieties, and channels. Model evolution is extra about technique, sources, and willingness to experiment whereas sustaining high quality and authenticity.
Bandholz: The place can folks purchase your syrups and get in contact?
Harrison: Our website is LiberAndCompany.com. I’m on LinkedIn.
