Alex Hildebrandt

Born in Lima, Peru, Alex Hildebrandt grew up steeped in pisco culture before moving to the United States as a child. In 2019, he and co-founder Ian Leggett launched a simple passion project: hunt down the small-batch piscos they loved from childhood trips home. They hit a wall fast. The expressions they preferred were completely unknown outside local Peruvian markets. No U. S.

Distribution. No recognition even among most pisco drinkers. The pair formalized their work in 2020, founding SUYO Pisco as a Lima-based seed company focused on single-origin Peruvian pisco. The brand became the first pisco label to earn B Corp certification, a nod to its focus on ethical sourcing and support for small, overlooked producers across Peru. In spring 2024, SUYO won $100,000 in funding from Sprout Beverage, the startup accelerator arm of InvestBev, to scale its operations. The brand now distributes through Skurnik Wines & Spirits, bringing its line of single-origin expressions to U.

S. Retailers and bars. Hildebrandt, a Peruvian American, has said SUYO was built as a way to reconnect with his roots and. Share Peru’s pisco heritage with a global audience.. He appeared as a featured guest on the HIBT Podcast, where he discussed the brand’s origin, the challenges of building a supply chain centered on producer equity, and the discipline of rejecting short-term partnership offers that don’t align with the brand’s mission. In May 2024, he co-hosted a dinner series with Boston’s Comfort Kitchen, pairing SUYO pisco with Peruvian-inspired dishes to introduce the brand’s story to local diners. On LinkedIn, he has written about the difficulty of saying no to misaligned opportunities as a founder, calling it one of the hardest but most important parts of building the business.