Childwall entrepreneur Helen Lowry is celebrating 10 years since launching Opulence Mobile Bar, a business that has become a firm favourite with celebrities and partygoers across the Liverpool City Region.

The 35-year-old has spent the past decade serving drinks at family celebrations, corporate events and special occasions, building a strong reputation for her stylish mobile bar service.

To mark the milestone, we caught up with Helen to look back on her journey so far, the growth of Opulence Mobile Bar and what lies ahead for the business.

Helen, congratulations on 10 years in business, thats a fantastic achievement.

Can you tell us how you started?

Following uni, I struggled to find a job. I tried many different avenues. I used to work voluntarily at different events within the city to gain experience & spent hours emailing events companies and festivals across the UK and abroad to try and get more experience. I was working in retail at the time, which is the same job I had as a student, and I was really frustrated knowing I had 2 degrees but could not get a job.

I noticed the Lord Mayor of Liverpool (Gary Millar at the time) attended lots of events so I stepped out my comfort zone and thought I am going to email and approach him and he kindly invited me in to the town hall to meet him – from there he gave me lots of advice and introduced me to event managers in the city – I then started doing more work experience and eventually was offered a job as wedding and event manager of a catering hospitality company in Liverpool. This job led me to work on high-profile events such as the Liverpool Giant Spectacular, the Liverpool Tennis Tournament, and Cheshire Polo. I was running events in some of Liverpool’s most prestigious venues such as St George’s Hall, Palm House, and Liverpool Town Hall. I was 100% sure I wanted to be working in events at this point.

So how did you make the transition to owning your own business?

After years in the events & hospitality industry, I noticed the need for mobile bars.

I know how much effort goes into a house party, and I find you never get time to socialise with your guests. So that’s when I thought of the idea of serving drinks, making cocktails and providing a full bar service in the comfort of your own home.

I like to keep my prices affordable and will always work within the provided budget. 

From house parties, the business then expanded into corporate events, brand launches, shop openings, salon parties, etc.

So this was where Opulence was created! 

Originally, I focused on wedding planning & offering the bar as an extra, and what started as a makeshift bedroom office has now turned into a successful business venture, which I’m super grateful for.

What does the mobile bar entail?

Our business tagline is ‘Opulence – bringing the bar to you’. We bring a complete bar setup and are there to make fresh cocktails and serve drinks in any setting, whether it’s your house, garden, office, gym, or any venue. We style the bar to suit the occasion, and that’s what people love. The bar is not only practical, but I design it so it becomes a centrepiece of the party.

So what type of events do you do, and are you trained to make cocktails?

Literally any event! From gender reveals, hen parties, corporate events, and product launches to children’s mocktail parties – whatever the event, we can theme it.

I’ve done a cocktail party for 10 girls with pre-drinks before their night out, family house parties of 30, and large-scale events serving 300 guests! 

Yes, I’m a trained mixologist with bar experience of over 15 years, so I pride myself on ensuring all cocktails are freshly made with pretty garnishes, premium ingredients, and I always love to use local produce where I can.

In the early stages of Opulence, I travelled to Moët in the Champagne region of France to learn more about champagne, as at the time the champagne bars I provided were very popular.  I wanted to make sure I knew everything there was to know about it.

And a little birdie tells me Opulence has been involved in some rather high-profile events too?

Haha maybe!! It still feels really surreal to have been asked to do LFC events and star-studded events, and I have filmed on a few episodes of The Real Housewives of Cheshire.

To name a few…. Coleen Rooney, Tanya Bardsley, Duncan Ferguson, the Smith brothers, and I had my own cocktail bar at Haydock Park racecourse, which was an incredible experience.

I’m always super grateful for every opportunity and enquiry for Opulence.

What’s next for you?

Within the next 10 years, I want to be the UK’s leading go-to mobile bar service, delivering services at corporate events, private parties and branded launch events. I want to become a brand that people immediately associate with a luxury drinks service.

I want to expand beyond cocktails and also push my recently launched mobile matcha bar, which has already been really popular.

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