Dynamic Women Leading the Food and Beverage Market

As March celebrates Women's History Month, our readers will like to know about some of the leading women in the food and beverage space that are changing the dynamic. Find out more about Nicki Laborie from REYNA; Celina Perez from Great Jones Distilling Co.; and Aaisha Dadral from Equiano Rum.

Nicki Laborie, Owner of REYNA Hospitality Group

Born in Montreal to a worldly family, Nicki Laborie's passion for fine dining was cultivated at a young age with her mother's impeccable cooking and her father's love of wine. Laborie's adult life was spent everywhere from Montreal to New York to St. Maarten, before she finally ended up in Toronto.

In 1993, Laborie attended Montreal's LaSalle College, where she studied Restaurant Management. Shortly after, she moved to New York City to study Communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology, which ultimately set her up for a powerhouse career in fashion, luxury, and hospitality PR, where she worked for some of the world's top fashion and luxury brands such as Bottega Veneta, Kenzo as well as renowned Chef Charlie Palmer.

Laborie truly began her culinary journey in 2004 with a position as General Manager at Bamboo Bernies in St. Maarten. From there, she returned to Toronto to run the waterfront restaurant, Eden Trattoria. In 2010, Laborie founded View the Vibe, where she combined her 360-degree expertise in PR, marketing, media, and hospitality industries to create a Canadian publication offering news and insights into Toronto restaurants, trends, fashion, people, and culture. However, her dream of opening her very own restaurant and bar came to fruition with the opening of Bar Reyna and Reyna on King, both of which successfully captured Laborie's vision of creating an establishment that combines a unique casual elegance with a hip and eccentric vibe.

Today, View the Vibe and Reyna Hospitality Group are Nicki's food business passions that keep her ear to the ground about food trends and the latest in the culinary world.

Celina Perez, Head Distiller, Great Jones Distilling Co.

Celina Perez is the Head Distiller at Great Jones Distilling Company where she manages spirit production including fermentations, distillation, and new product development. Celina started as an assistant at the Dog Fish Head and Birra Baladin Microbrewery collaboration on the Eataly rooftop and now works on building distillation systems, programming, and running a 6000 gallon fermentation capacity distillery in the heart of New York City.

Originally from San Francisco, Perez has worked with big brands such as Widow Jane and Owney's and received awards for her work from the American Distilling Institute as well as being a speaker at their annual conference in 2013, among other distinctions in her field. Celina was also named Imbie's People to Watch in 2022. Celina is a graduate from NYU with a Bachelor's in Science and has over nine years of experience working on all levels of distillation production from planning to construction to implementation and from grain to barrel to bottle.

Aaisha Dadral, Co-Founder, Brand + Marketing Director at Equiano Rum

In 2019, Aaisha Dadral co-founded Equiano Rum with Amanda Kakembo. Named after Olaudah Equiano -- an 18th century writer, abolitionist and entrepreneur -- Equiano Rum is a premium-aged rum that offers something entirely new to the category, as the world's first African and Caribbean rum.

Aaisha Dadral is a branding and marketing professional, with over a decade of experience in the field. Before launching her own studio, Crave, she served on the marketing teams at major UK-based record labels Island Records, Mercury/Def Jam Records, and Levels Entertainment. Within these roles, Dadral worked on various #1 singles and albums, and was the youngest Head of Marketing in the UK -- obtaining the title at the age of 25. Dadral's brand studio Crave, founded in 2013, creates and builds brands for culture. The female, POC founded company is one of the only independently owned studios in the UK with major global clients such as BBC, Google and Nike, and is run by a team that is notably younger than the vast majority of their peers. In 2019, Dadral became one of the Equiano Rum co-founders. Together, with kindred aspirations to create something unique and to firmly place giving back at the center of their work, Equiano's founders have brought the world's first African & Caribbean rum to the market.

As Co-Founder and Brand & Marketing Director, Dadral oversees all branding and marketing operations, from the language and tone of voice, to the brand and bottle design, social media content, and everything in between. The inspiration behind the brand, with philanthropic aspirations and equality at the heart, motivates her work and keeps her focused. She seeks to be the change that she had hoped to see growing up, not only in the spirits industry but in the business world at large.

Photo Credit: Aaisha Dadral, Photo by Andrea Edmondson

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