Aguileros Beverage Group recently launched a private equity fund with a target of $5 million and a focus on investing in the Mexican beverage industry space.

The fund, which has already secured $2 million in commitments, has a hard cap of $10 million.

Aguileros has headquarters in Culver City but takes a far-reaching geographic approach with its general partner leadership team. Alex Staniloff heads up distribution in Canada; Abraham Cortes leads branding efforts in Culver City; and Eli Diamond scouts talent from Guadalajara, Mexico, which has “cemented (Aguileros) in the inner circle of the agave and Mexican beverage industry… having access to the most exclusive deals going on in Mexico before they’re ever made public,” Staniloff said.

“L.A. is the place that all of our branding comes out of, and we see a significant portion of our investment coming from there,” Staniloff said.

Three target areas for the fund

This fund has three target areas: minority investments in high-growth potential companies, seed capital for new and emerging businesses, and strategic partnerships for established businesses. Staniloff estimates about half of the capital raised will go towards minority investments and the remaining half will be split between the other two groups, possibly with a tilt toward joint venture.

Investments will range between $100,000 and $1 million and go beyond just monetary value. The beverage group looks to take on adviser shares in its high-growth companies to boost its upside, Staniloff said.

“In addition to acting as a pure sales agency, we often like to go a step further and consult, strategize, help on the formulation, branding and initial rollout,” he said. “We want to be in the room and feel like we have ownership … on the products that we work with.”

Staniloff and Diamond, who have known each other since preschool, both separately got involved in the beverage space before joining forces to address industry shortfalls.

“Both (Diamond and I) felt like we had the same pain points in this industry where a lot of love and effort is put into the product side .. and into the point of sale – meaning really amazing bars or retail experiences – but there was a huge part of the industry, the distribution and logistics, that was really feeling tired and stale, so we set out to do things a little bit better,” Staniloff said.

One of Aguileros’ notable investments includes Olé Cocktail Co., a canned tequila beverage brand, which was later acquired by Mark Anthony Group, which also owns White Claw.

Impacts of tariffs

Amid geopolitical tensions between the United States and its North American neighbors regarding President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, Staniloff said a shift toward American-made agave spirits may be possible and something for Aguileros to look into. But ultimately, he pointed to geographic protections for the production of tequila and mezcal in Mexico.

“As much as Trump wants to domesticate all production of everything, tequila and mezcal are always going to be (from Mexico) and at the end of the day, they have to be imported,” Staniloff said. “If it is going to cost a little bit more, it really is what it is.”

Staniloff said he does not envision these tariffs being long-term, believing that “cooler heads will prevail and eventually an agreement will be reached.” In the meantime, he views the customer base for these products as not necessarily price-conscious.

Staniloff also pointed out that Aguileros has a decent international network of importers and distributors and not every brand it represents will have to rely so heavily on the United States. Recently in Canada, he has observed a shift away from American-made products given the current climate – a trend he doesn’t necessarily see lasting, but a trend nevertheless.

“I do think that by Canadian retailers, for example, removing bourbon and Tito’s from their shelves, there is going to be an even faster migration towards agave and Mexican products,” he said.