“Ernie was in a meeting in Florida with his management team at the start of 2017,” recalls Cayce. “I’d already got to the stage where we’d created samples of the iced coffee and I was excited about the product, so I brought a few bottles into the office for everyone to try. They all loved it. In fact, Ernie loved it so much that he said he wanted to put his name to it. That’s how Els Iced Coffee was born and the rest, as they say, is history.”  
 
Ernie himself has, of course, proved in recent years that his entrepreneurial skills are as potent as his silky-smooth golf swing. He is the figure-head and driving force behind a diverse range of endeavours such as international golf course design, wines, restaurants, residential property, golf academies and a partnership in an athletic scholarship agency. In particular, Ernie’s personal knowledge of wine production and international sales and distribution, will have many shared synergies in terms of growing the Els Iced Coffee brand.

Indeed, building a successful business from scratch is a well-trodden path for Ernie. When discussing the commonalities of high-achievement in business and in sport, he believes there are a lot of parallels, as Ernie says:

“You need to be dedicated, you have to work hard and be extremely focused on your goals. You can’t live a regular 9-5 life if you want to get to the top either in sport or in business. You have to make sacrifices and that was something that I learnt at the start of my career. I’ve also since learnt that you need to surround yourself with a great team. And obviously you need a great product.”

On that criteria, Els Iced Coffee has all the right ingredients for success!