about us
Helping create amazing experiences

Who are we
We're the drinks experiences experts
Frankie founded Black Pineapple in 2016 after spending over 25 years in the drinks industry in the UK & NZ. From bartending & running top UK bars through to Sales, Marketing, Brand Activation, Education, and Advocacy. Frankie fundamentally believes that life’s too short to drink shit drinks – and Black Pineapple is here to help!
Favourite cocktail: Spritz Italiano

Ben Newman
Head of Operations
Ben gained his passion for drinks and operations working in some of the country’s top cocktail spots. Ben’s attention to detail and creativity help to drive and inspire everything that we do.
Favourite cocktail: East 8 Holdup

Jessie Billows
Event Sales Manager

Dave Ryan
Event Specialist
Also known as The Landlord, Dave is our events specialist, ensuring every single drink we serve is at the peak of perfection – from batching and bottling to taking care of our amazing events staff so they do the same for you. Dave’s happy place is being at the front line at our events, libating happy customers.
Favourite cocktail: La Paloma

Jayden
E-Commerce Operations Manager
and bartenders, Jayden's passion for computer work and back-of-house
operations makes him a valuable addition to the team. Jayden ensures every
cocktail box we send is beautifully packed and packaged, and gets where it
needs to go quick-snap!

Chris ‘Crispy’ McClean.
Event Operations Manager
then Restaurants, and then a high-volume cocktail bars in N.Z where he discovered his passion for cocktail making. Crispy’s calm, meticulous approach means that every detail has been thought through ensuring 10/10 cocktails and
service at every event we cater.
Favourite cocktail: Tommy’s Margarita

Miles
E-Commerce Sales Manger
Coming from one of Auckland’s best Cocktail Bars, Miles traded in his shakers at the end of 2022 to join the Black Pineapple Sales team. As your go-to Industry Drinks and Corporate-Gifting Liaison, Miles will be the first one to tell you it’s both his job and his pleasure to cater to your every need.
Miles had his first “Wow!” drinks-moment at home in his kitchen meticulously building his first ever Whiskey Sour. After a couple false-starts and a few cracked eggs, that drink’s silky smoothness flipped a switch in Miles’ brain and he’s been obsessed with Classic Cocktails ever since. Now you can catch him crusading to share that same joy with everyone- one delicious drink at a time.
Favourite cocktail: The Daiquiri