In March 2026, AXIALYN successfully launched Behind the Lanes, a three-day hospitality collaboration event in Melbourne that brought together some of the most exciting coffee and cocktail brands from across Asia-Pacific. Designed as an alternative to traditional trade shows, the event transformed a Melbourne CBD venue into a living hospitality environment where baristas, bartenders, and industry creatives worked side-by-side to create drinks, exchange ideas, and engage directly with the public.

Held from 19–21 March 2026, Behind the Lanes welcomed hundreds of guests across multiple daily sessions spanning coffee, aperitivo, and cocktail programs. The event celebrated the intersection of specialty coffee and bar culture — highlighting collaboration, craft, and the evolving global hospitality community.

A Platform for Collaboration

Rather than traditional exhibition booths, Behind the Lanes was built around fully operational café and bar stations, allowing visiting teams to serve guests directly and collaborate across disciplines.

International coffee brands, cocktail bars, and hospitality professionals worked side-by-side to create limited-edition menus and cross-category drinks designed specifically for the event.

Participating brands included:

Coffee

Glitch Coffee (Tokyo)
Travertine Coffee (Seoul)
Recovery Coffee Bar (Seoul)
Asylum Coffeehouse (Singapore)
Tracia (Malaysia)

Bars

EPIC Shanghai (Shanghai)
Ace Four Club (Seoul)
Bar Sook-Hee (Seoul)
Pine (Taiwan)
Laut (Singapore)
Carrots (Jakarta)

Melbourne’s bar community also played a key role in the program.
Local venues One or Two, Moondrop, and Above Board hosted special guest shifts, welcoming international bartenders into the city’s acclaimed cocktail scene and allowing them to present their craft to a local audience.

The event’s Aperitivo Hour became a central highlight — a dedicated collaboration window where coffee professionals and bartenders created original drinks that blurred the boundaries between café culture and cocktail craft.e coffee professionals and bartenders collaborated to produce original drinks that blurred the lines between café culture and cocktail craft.

An Immersive Hospitality Experience

Behind the Lanes was designed to reflect the spirit of Melbourne’s iconic laneway culture. The venue was transformed into a modular hospitality space featuring multiple bar stations, collaborative service areas, and an open terrace that encouraged conversation between guests and creators.

Each day was structured around three distinct programs:

Coffee Hour — showcasing specialty coffee and signature café beverages
Aperitivo Hour — a collaboration-driven program pairing coffee, spirits, and culinary elements
Cocktail Hour — evening sessions highlighting the craft of international bartending

This layered format allowed visitors to experience the evolution of drinks culture throughout the day — from morning coffee service to late-night cocktail creativity.

International Participation and Cultural Exchange

Behind the Lanes brought together hospitality professionals from across Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Melbourne, creating a rare platform for international collaboration in Australia.

Beyond the drinks themselves, the event fostered meaningful exchange between professionals who rarely have the opportunity to work together in the same space. Teams shared techniques, ingredients, and cultural approaches to hospitality, resulting in new creative partnerships and friendships that extended beyond the event.

For many participants, Behind the Lanes marked their first opportunity to present their work in Melbourne.

Industry Support and Partnerships

Behind the Lanes was made possible through the support of partners who share AXIALYN’s commitment to craftsmanship, innovation, and hospitality culture.

A special thank you goes to KORI Ice Cream, whose generosity and continuous support played an important role throughout the event. As one of the event’s strongest supporters, KORI helped bring additional energy and hospitality to the space, contributing to the overall experience for both guests and participating teams.

The event was also supported by leading partners across the beverage and hospitality industry:

Kuramoto Ice, providing precision-cut ice used across cocktail programs and guest shifts, elevating both presentation and drink quality
Oatly, supporting the coffee program with oat milk used across café service
Alternative Dairy Co., contributing plant-based milk options for participating coffee teams
Riverina Fresh, supplying fresh dairy milk used across the coffee menu
Fever-Tree, providing premium mixers for aperitivo collaborations and highball serves

Together, these partners helped ensure that every drink served during Behind the Lanes reflected the same level of quality, care, and craftsmanship shared by the participating brands.

Behind the Lanes — By The Numbers

Behind the Lanes | Melbourne, Australia
19–21 March 2026

2,000+ Visitors
Over three days, Behind the Lanes welcomed more than two thousand guests through its rotating Coffee, Aperitivo, and Cocktail sessions, with an average of 150–200 attendees per hour moving through the venue.

956 Drinks Served
Nearly one thousand beverages were served across coffee, aperitivo, and cocktail programs, showcasing limited-edition menus and collaborative creations designed exclusively for the event.

9 International Hospitality Brands
Participating brands travelled from across Asia-Pacific, representing Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and Melbourne, bringing together baristas and bartenders from some of the region’s most respected venues.

3 Melbourne Bar Guest Shifts
International teams collaborated with Melbourne’s acclaimed bar scene through guest shifts hosted at:

One or Two
Moondrop
Above Board

6+ Collaborative Aperitivo Creations
Behind the Lanes placed collaboration at the center of the program, resulting in a series of limited-run drinks developed jointly by coffee and cocktail professionals.

3 Distinct Daily Programs
The event evolved throughout the day with dedicated sessions for:

Coffee Hour
Aperitivo Hour
Cocktail Hour

Together, these programs created a continuous hospitality experience that reflected the rhythm of Melbourne’s café and bar culture.

Digital Reach and Social Impact

Beyond the physical event, Behind the Lanes generated strong digital engagement across social media, amplifying the reach of participating brands and partners far beyond Melbourne.

Across the event period and surrounding campaign window, the Behind the Lanes Instagram platform achieved significant growth and visibility.

579,900+ Views
Content from the event generated over 579K views, reflecting strong international interest and organic audience reach.

9,200+ Interactions
Posts and reels from the event generated more than 9.2K engagements, including likes, comments, shares, and saves.

715 New Followers
The event campaign attracted over 700 new followers, expanding the Behind the Lanes audience and community.

530 Pieces of Content Published
Throughout the campaign and event period, over 530 pieces of content were shared across posts, reels, and stories, documenting collaborations, guest shifts, and live moments from the event.

Together, this digital activity helped extend the impact of Behind the Lanes globally, allowing audiences from across the hospitality industry to follow the event in real time.

A New Model for Hospitality Events

Behind the Lanes represents AXIALYN’s continued exploration of new formats for hospitality gatherings. Rather than focusing on exhibition or competition, the event prioritised collaboration, storytelling, and real-time service.

By placing professionals directly behind the bar and inviting guests into the process, the event created a dynamic environment where ideas, drinks, and conversations flowed freely.

The strong response from both the public and the hospitality community confirmed the appetite for this kind of experience-driven event.

Behind the Lanes — Photo Recap 📸

Coffee by day, cocktails by night.

Three unforgettable days with the global hospitality community in Melbourne.

#BehindTheLanes

Behind the Lanes — Photo Recap

Three days in Melbourne.
Coffee, cocktails, and collaborations across cities and cultures.

Thank you to every team and guest who made this possible.

A few moments from the weekend. 📸

#BehindTheLanes #Melbourn

Behind the Lanes — Photo Recap 3

For three days, a space in Melbourne became something special.

Coffee bars, cocktail bars, and hospitality teams from across the region came together — not as competitors, but as collaborators. New drink

Behind the Lanes — Photo Recap 2

Three days in Melbourne.
Coffee in the mornings, aperitivo in the afternoons, cocktails through the night.

Behind the Lanes brought together international coffee roasters, cocktail bars, and the Melbourne hosp

Behind the Lanes — Photo Recap

Three days in Melbourne.
Coffee in the mornings, aperitivo in the afternoons, cocktails through the night.

Behind the Lanes brought together international coffee roasters, cocktail bars, and the Melbourne hospit

Coffee culture today isn’t just about the beans — it’s also about what goes into the cup alongside them.

At Behind the Lanes, we’re grateful to have Oatly supporting our coffee programme throughout the event. Known for their

Looking Forward

Behind the Lanes marks the beginning of a new chapter for AXIALYN’s hospitality programming. Following the success of the Melbourne edition, the concept will continue to evolve through future collaborations, new cities, and expanded formats.

As the global hospitality industry becomes increasingly interconnected, AXIALYN remains committed to creating platforms that bring together creative communities across borders.

Behind the Lanes is more than an event — it is a meeting point for the next generation of hospitality culture.

Behind the Lanes: Redefining Hospitality Collaboration in Melbourne