Ever thought how genius an idea it’d be to have barrels full of prosecco for a large-scale event rather than lumping around endless numbers of glass bottles?
Well, we’re sorry to say, one person has already gone and done it – and it’s been a huge success.
It’s been four years since Society last chatted to Mark Copland, the owner of Art Deco Prosecco based in Inverurie.
His mobile prosecco van has been a fountain of joy for weddings, stag and hen parties and many more special occasions across the north-east.
Covid dealt a severe blow to the entrepreneur – who also owns other catering and firework display businesses – but now that Art Deco Prosecco is on the road again, he’s enjoying making up for lost time.
“Lockdown wasn’t great at all. I lost half a million pounds worth of business in a year and a half,” Mark explains.
“We weren’t able to get any help in terms of industry support or grants and to be honest, it was a bit of a disaster.
“However, we diversified into the catering industry with a business called Absolute Roasters, which has come on leaps and bounds.
“But with Art Deco Prosecco, in terms of bookings and events, everything came back to life in March this year.”
Car lover
To Mark’s knowledge, Art Deco Prosecco still remains the north-east’s only pop-up prosecco van.
He started the business in 2017, born out of his passion for cars, and lockdown provided him with the opportunity to not only add to his impressive collection, but also add new features to Art Deco Prosecco.
“I’ve got an old car that I’ve restored during lockdown and the idea is to put a few beer taps on that and run it alongside the prosecco van,” says Mark.
“We’ll hopefully have that up and running in the coming months.”
Getting back out there
Mark first became passionate about different types and qualities of prosecco back in 2016.
Six years on, that passion remains infused in Art Deco Prosecco, which prides upon being a “high-end service” for special occasions.
It’s been a recipe for success to date despite the setbacks of lockdowns and Mark is delighted to be getting the van back out there and enjoying working with clients.
“The van was bought in 2017 and it’s been an asset for me ever since – it’s still immaculate,” Mark enthuses.
“It’s always been popular with things like hen parties and weddings and it’s a high-end service we offer with our average customer spending around £1,200.
“We’ve got a backlog of a year and a half of bookings that couldn’t take place, as well as new ones too, but we’re happy to now be getting stuck into them.”
Prosecco pros
Whether you’re a prosecco novice or connoisseur, one thing’s for sure: there’s genuinely nothing quite like Art Deco Prosecco’s own range of fizz.
It continues to be the only company in the north-east that exclusively uses the 1754 Prosecco brand, which you won’t find anywhere else.
Mark believes it’s this quality prosecco that has been the secret behind Art Deco Prosecco’s success.
“We want to buy the best quality prosecco we can,” says Mark.
“It’s still the same brand of 1754 Prosecco that we exclusively use.
“We can get 160 glasses of 125ml of prosecco, or 200 glasses of 100ml prosecco from each barrel loaded in the van.
“It always goes down well.”
Bespoke service
But it’s not just prosecco you have the option of drinking with Art Deco Prosecco.
Its bespoke service allows customers to request almost “anything they like” according to Mark – from beer kegs to prosecco and pig feasts.
“Every customer wants something different,” Mark explains.
“The most common are prosecco and Birra Moretti beer as they’re both Italian and they go well together.
“But if somebody wants something else like Brewdog for example, we provide what they want.
“We offer canapes with drinks a lot of the time, based on the client’s request.
“But other times we’ve done pig and prosecco offerings where you can get a hog roast alongside the prosecco van for a nice food and drink package.”
New features
As the business has evolved, Mark has also brought in new drinks features to expand the variety of Art Deco Prosecco’s drinks range.
“One of our new features is our prosecco wall, which is a nice new aesthetic addition,” says Mark.
“We also have a new dual slush machine which allows us to do frozen cocktails like pornstar martinis.
“There’s also draught cocktails and we’ve invested in new beer taps which are quite popular at the moment.
“You can buy a keg of Tennent’s with the beer tap all in for £300, which is great for things like barbecues, stag parties and all sorts.
“More and more people are wanting things like a keg of Guinness at weddings, so that’s also something we’ve been able to offer.”
Adapting
However, like most businesses in the events and hospitality sectors, Art Deco Prosecco hasn’t been immune to hard times since starting five years ago.
Rising prices and inflation have forced the business to up its price mark for its services.
But Mark is proud to have only had to do this once over a five-year period, ensuring that customers are still receiving a quality service at a fair price.
“Prosecco has gone up in price because of Brexit and all sorts compared to when we first started buying it,” says Mark.
“We’ve only had to increase our prices once by £100 over the last five years due to prices of prosecco, fuel and even plastic cups all going up.
“It’s definitely not a big increase, but it’s in line with everything else.”
Keeping the wheels rolling
Mark doesn’t hold any radical plans to change Art Deco Prosecco any time soon.
With continued success coming its way, it’s a case of not needing to fix something that isn’t broken.
Now, Mark can continue to enjoy making his customers’ special occasions even more memorable.
“Interacting with people is always a great part of the job,” says Mark.
“I feel like you’ve got to have an outgoing personality to do a job like this.
“I’ve got a good team of staff around me who have been able to diversify into other pop-up bars which have been handy for local venues and businesses.
“On the whole, things are going great.”
A round of questions with Mark Copland of Art Deco Prosecco…
Best prosecco topper?
I’d say Chambord is the best.
If you were a drink, what would you be and why?
A pornstar martini… no explanation needed!
What’s in your drinks cabinet at home?
I’ve got a nice collection of whiskies, wines and gins. Our house can be a bit of a party house at times!
First time you tried prosecco?
I’d say around 2016 was when I started properly delving into different kinds of prosecco and finding out all about them.
Any secret tips of the drinks trade?
You’ve got to have banter with your customers and be sociable.
Best food and drink pairing?
Smoked brisket and a decent red wine.
If you were stuck on a desert island, what three drinks would be there with you?
Water, dark fruit Strongbow and a decent bottle of whisky.
You have to serve your favourite race car driver a drink. Who is it and what do you serve them?
Max Verstappen and I’d serve him a nice whisky. I was actually just at the Canadian Grand Prix recently, which was amazing!
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