Since George Clooney sold Casamigos for a cool $1 billion dollars, every celebrity and their dog seems to want a crack at the booze biz.
But star appeal doesn’t always guarantee success.
Here are 3 major factors that make the difference between an alcohol brand that works and one that fails.
Factor 1: Authenticity
It helps when the star in question genuinely loves the booze they’re selling.
If their brand is seen as a cash grab with no passion or purpose, it creates publicity problems, which quickly become dwindling sales.
LIKE: Dos Hombres
The Mezcal brand from Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston works because of Breaking Bad’s connections to Mexico, but mainly because Paul clearly loves the liquid.
Google “Dos Hombres” and you’ll find him serving it, making cocktails with it, and saying it’s a sin to shot it.
The fact it’s a self-funded venture, made sustainably in small batches from a single village in Oaxaca, also suggests the guys actually care about making quality booze.
The two guys were spotted in a CostCo actually handing out samples.
Where is it now?
Currently ranked 4th best-selling mezcal in the US.
Takeaway:
When someone loves what they sell, it shows.
UNLIKE: Trump Vodka
While Trump played a big role in his short-lived vodka brand, the story behind it wasn’t the most compelling.
He told interviewers: “A great friend of mine was a founder of Grey Goose [...] and I want to top them, because it’s fun to top my friends.”
As a known teetotaller, he couldn’t vouch for the taste either, which was cited as one of the major factors in the brand’s downfall.
Where is it now?
Trump Vodka ceased production in 2011, after failing to reach desired levels of distribution.
Takeaway:
Don’t sell something you wouldn’t drink.
Factor 2: Infrastructure
If you’ve never sold booze before, it’s easy to think a global fan base equals a global customer base.
Sadly, it doesn’t. Any alcohol brand looking to sell globally has a LOT of logistical questions to answer first.
UNLIKE: Danny DeVito’s Limoncello
While Danny DeVito’s Limoncello (ingeniously named Limoncello, by Danny Devito) gained a lot of attention, cross-border struggles eventually led to him losing interest, and bottles being discontinued.
When asked about the failure of his booze business, DeVito said:-
“People wanted it [...] there was some little snafus of getting it into the country, and I kind of let it sit [...]But I got a lot of publicity out of it. At least there’s that.”
Where is it now?
Limoncello by Danny Devito ceased production not long after its launch.
Takeaway:
Publicity isn’t enough to build a successful booze brand.
LIKE: SirDavis Whisky
While we’re not convinced by the familiar “my great Granddad made moonshine” story behind Beyonce’s whisky, she’s done a grand job of securing the infrastructure she needs to sell it across borders.
By setting up with the support of Moët Hennessy (a subsidiary of LVMH), she has their distribution network at her fingertips.
Plugged in and ready to sell anywhere. You’ll find it online in bountiful supply.
Where is it now?
While it’s too early to tell how well it will sell, the whisky has just launched, and is widely available online.
Takeaway:
With access to the right e-commerce infrastructure, booze brands can sell alcohol online and hit the ground running.
Factor 3: Involvement
When celebrity booze brands crash and burn, it’s often down to underestimating the amount of work required.
While those that succeed tend to be backed by a star that really gets involved in the development, distribution, and promotion of the product.
LIKE: Teremana
Aka The Rock’s Tequila. Teremana CEO told press that “Dwayne is in this for the long haul”, and it shows.
He posts about it constantly to his millions of social media followers, regularly fronts Teremana advertising campaigns, secures product placement of Teremana in his films, and was heavily involved in the initial production process.
“I insisted on being there every step of the way in the liquid’s development” Johnson said, “it’s the only way to truly learn the process from beginning to end. I needed to educate myself.”
Where is it now?
Teremana recently surpassed 1 million cases sold, and has announced plans to launch into 5 new markets.
Takeaway
There’s owning a booze brand, and owning a booze brand. The latter makes a lot more money.
UNLIKE: Angel Champagne
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Mariah Carey’s Angel Champagne.
Despite being marketed as the world’s most fantastic champers, search online and you’ll struggle to find a shot of her holding it.
She did however shout it out in a tweet, as the reason for her overlong acceptance speech at Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Sadly, the brand didn’t last as long.
Where is it now?
The brand disappeared in 2012.
Takeaway
Your booze might be fantastic, but you have to promote it for people to find that out.
Key takeaways
It takes a lot more than star appeal to run a successful booze brand.
And there’s something we can all learn from the stories of Hollywood’s failures and successes in the alcohol industry:
- People can feel when someone has a genuine passion for booze.
- They can also feel when it’s a quick-and-easy cash grab.
- Fan base ≠ Customer base. To sell globally, the audience and infrastructure must be equally robust.
- There’s owning a booze brand, and owning a booze brand. Celebrity alcohol succeeds when the star in question really gets behind it.
If you’re not backed by Ryan Reynolds and want to learn how else to boost your bottles sales…
Sign up to our newsletter for your weekly shot of growth strategies, insights and industry news, poured straight into your inbox.
Click here to subscribe to my newsletter
