2025: The Year We Looked Closer and Thought Bigger
A year of collaboration, testing, new ideas and honest lessons. 2025 strengthened our foundation and opened conversations that will shape the next stage of our journey. This is what we’re taking with us into 2026.
Joana
Marketing
content
Looking back at 2025, the year felt like a series of real conversations with the industry.
Some happened on stages.
Some around workshop tables.
Some behind bars late at night.
All of them shaped how we think about the work we do and the role we want Behind Bars to play.
This year made something very clear: the best insights still come from bartenders. Their habits. Their pace. Their way of setting up a station.
Every project pushed us closer to a sharper, more grounded understanding of workflow and what it truly demands from equipment. And it reminded us that design only holds value when it supports the people who rely on it in service.
The industry keeps evolving. Expectations are rising. Bartenders are more knowledgeable, more technical, more intentional. That keeps us accountable.
imageWithText
Team Summit in Florence, Italy
A year of collaboration and exchange
Gulf Bar Show was a strong example of collaboration at its best. Working with XXXI Studio reinforced how meaningful it is when architecture, atmosphere, and workflow come together. When disciplines meet, design improves.
Speaking at FCSI, Tales of the Cocktail and SheSide allowed us to share our perspective, but mostly to listen. These events showed how global the conversation is becoming. Bars everywhere face similar challenges but respond with solutions shaped by culture, history, and space. Being part of these dialogues helped refine our own approach.
Throughout the year, we also found ourselves in conversations with people outside our usual circles — leaders with decades of manufacturing experience, people whose work sits upstream of ours. Those exchanges were quiet but meaningful. They broadened how we think about scale, capability and the long-term future of our industry.
multiColumn
Gulf Bar Show | Behind Bars team with Carlos from XXXI Studio
Alex speaking at FCSI event in Vietnam
quote
Projects that pushed us
content
This year, some of our most meaningful moments happened up close. In the office, around shared tables, sketching ideas with clients and testing modules in real time. These sessions reminded us that design moves faster and becomes sharper when the people who will use it are part of the process. Proximity made the work better.
Clemente Bar project brought another kind of closeness. Documenting the project from the inside and hearing the intentions behind the space reminded us why purposeful design matters and how much context shapes a station.
Torto event allowed us to see the trays in the environment they were built for. The pace of a busy night exposed the details that matter. Those observations became part of the final design (launch in early 2026).
Eva required patience, technical detail and constant testing. It confirmed something important. Progress often comes from solving small problems that influence workflow. When those details align, the impact is significant.
The new website and the growth of The Spill also helped define our digital presence. They created a home for our stories and gave our community a place to see itself. This shift feels aligned with where we are heading.
multiColumn
Fúria Bar | Station and Trays by Behind Bars |
Credit: Tiago Maya
The Eva Trolley Launch
imageWithText
Lisbon Design Week | XXXI Studio x Fúria x Behind Bars
What we learned and what we carry forward
Not everything went as planned. Some processes need more structure. Some timelines stretched. Some ideas were not timed well. These moments taught us that growth requires clearer priorities and better organisation. We will carry that into 2026.
Through everything, one theme remained constant. People.
Bartenders who challenge us.
Clients who trust us.
Partners who expand our perspective.
A team that handles the work with care.
We also welcomed Rita and Théo, who strengthened how we operate and how we tell our story.
The work itself grew. More than 100 bespoke bar stations delivered. A new website. The launch of Eva. Our presence at Gulf Bar Show opened new regions and new conversations.
2025 was not perfect, but it was honest. It pushed us to refine how we design, how we communicate and how we collaborate. It also made us more aware of the responsibility we hold in shaping the tools that define workflow.
Toward the end of the year, a different kind of conversation began. It encouraged us to think bigger, to imagine what could be possible with the right partners and to consider how expanding our capabilities might help us support the industry in a deeper and more sustainable way. These ideas will take shape in 2026.
quote
We step into the new year with more clarity, stronger structure and better ideas. One principle stays the same.
Design that respects the craft and supports the people who practice it.
video
2025 in Review
A year of progress shaped by people, projects and shared learning. As we move into 2026, we want to thank our team, collaborators and community for being part of this journey.
2025, told through the moments that mattered. Thank you to the team and everyone who was part of this year.
Behind Bars and Krowne join forces to expand what’s possible behind the bar, combining shared values, complementary strengths and a vision to support the next generation of hospitality.
