Lorenzo Antinori of Bar Leone has joined forces with Anirudh Singhal of SpeedX Hospitality and Priyanka Blah of The Dram Attic to launch Popolare Systems, a new global platform dedicated to designing and manufacturing premium professional bar systems, made in India for the global hospitality industry.
Announced across New Delhi, Hong Kong, and Bangalore, the venture positions itself as a long-term equipment platform rather than a one-off product line. Its founding thesis is straightforward: bar equipment that works hard, lasts, and looks the part, built on bartender-first design and precision engineering.
Three Partners, Three Disciplines
Each founder owns a distinct piece of the build. Antinori, whose Hong Kong venue Bar Leone is widely regarded as one of the world’s finest cocktail bars, leads the creative and operational philosophy behind Popolare Systems, contributing the workflow and design thinking that come from running one of the world’s most talked-about cocktail bars, along with decades of international bartending experience.
SpeedX Hospitality, founded by Singhal, handles engineering and manufacturing. The company has spent two decades designing, engineering, and building professional bars across India, including many of the country’s most recognized bars, and brings the manufacturing capability and global distribution to turn that vision into commercially scalable products.
The Dram Attic, Blah’s strategic consulting and advocacy platform, serves as the strategic force behind the collaboration, bringing the relationships that connect hospitality brands, bartenders, venues, and beverage companies, along with brand partnerships and market development.
“Great bars deserve great tools,” Antinori said in the announcement. “Popolare Systems is about creating professional bar systems that genuinely improve the way bartenders work while remaining beautiful enough to belong in the finest bars anywhere in the world.”
Leone and Apollo, the First Two Stations
The debut collection introduces two flagship systems that will set the design language for everything Popolare builds after.
Leone is the signature station, a refined take on the modern cocktail station built around how bartenders actually move behind the bar. Speed, reach, and everyday efficiency drive the layout, aimed at premium cocktail bars, luxury hotels, and destination restaurants.
Apollo is the grand station, an island-style flagship intended for the most ambitious projects on the board. Wider workspaces, integrated functionality, and a more theatrical guest-facing profile suit venues where craftsmanship and performance are as visible as the drinks.
Together, the two stations are meant to establish the design language that will define future products within Popolare Systems.
Made in India, Built for the World
A significant subtext of the launch is where the equipment is being made. Singhal frames Popolare Systems as a statement of intent for Indian hospitality manufacturing.
“This collaboration represents something much larger than a product launch,” Singhal said. “It is about demonstrating that products designed and manufactured in India can stand alongside the very best globally, not simply through competitive manufacturing, but through design, engineering and craftsmanship. Popolare Systems is our commitment to building world-class products for the global hospitality industry.”
Blah, in turn, describes the venture as the sum of three complementary strengths. “Lorenzo brings extraordinary operational insight, SpeedX brings engineering and manufacturing excellence, and The Dram Attic brings a strategic and global thinking ecosystem needed to build an international brand,” she said. “Together, we are creating something that has the potential to redefine how professional bar systems are designed, experienced and adopted around the world.”
What’s Next
The first collection is in development and will launch across key Asian markets before rolling out internationally. From there, the founders plan to grow Popolare Systems into a full family of bar systems for luxury hotels, independent cocktail bars, restaurants, and hospitality groups.
Bartender-first thinking and precise engineering sit behind all of it, with one stated aim: to raise the standard for what professional bar equipment can be.
