Despite recent inflation, luxury spirits sales are up 4% from last year. Another interesting aspect of this is that the majority of top sellers are celebrity liquor brands. In this article, we examine which stars are major players, why this strategy works, and how you can leverage it in your business…
Before we get into who is winning in the industry today, we have to turn back the clock…
THAT WAS WHEN THE HOLLYWOOD ELITE SAW ONE OF THEIR OWN GET A MASSIVE PAYOUT FROM INVESTING AND ENDORSING ALCOHOL.
Actor, George Clooney, established the Casamigos brand in 2013. According to Business Insider, the motivation was Clooney and a friend wanted to drink all day without getting a hangover.
While we can’t speak to the validity of that claim, Casamigos was verifiably a hit…
IN 2017, THE ‘OCEAN’S 11’ STAR SOLD THE COMPANY FOR $1 BILLION!
After that, the celebrity liquor trend was off to the races…
Who is on the A-List of this Celebrity Liquor Trend?
Currently, there are 63 celebrity liquor brands as of the writing of this article. Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States commented this about the influx…
“CELEBRITY-OWNED SPIRIT BRANDS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE. BUT CERTAINLY, THE INCREASED CONSUMER INTEREST IN GREAT DISTILLED SPIRITS HAS EXCITEDLY GENERATED A LOT OF CELEBRITY ENGAGEMENT AND ENTHUSIASM IN RECENT YEARS.”
With so many on the market, some are more successful than others. These are a few established and new star-powered spirit companies killing it in the marketplace…
#1 Bethenny Frankel — Skinnygirl Vodka
First, we have to mention Bethenny Frankel’s vodka that launched her Skinnygirl empire. The sale of the liquor branch of Skinnygirl earned Frankel a cool $100 million.
However, the multi-millionaire still maintains licensing rights to the brand for other products.
#2 Kendall Jenner — 818 Tequila
In 2021, the member of the Kardashian-Jenner family premiered her celebrity liquor brand…
With stellar results.
818 Tequila is the eighth-best-selling tequila on the market today in its short time on the shelf. But are we surprised with a social media queen at the helm?
#3 Snoop Dogg — Indoggo Gin
Third, another successful newcomer to alcohol sales is 10X Growth Conference performer, Snoop Dogg.
INDOGGO WON A DOUBLE GOLD IN TASTE AND DESIGN FROM THE 2020 PROOF AWARDS — THE SAME YEAR AS ITS RELEASE.
Apparently, this strawberry-infused gin is good to “lay back” with…
#4 Ryan Reynolds — Aviation Gin
Another power player in the celebrity liquor industry is Ryan Reynolds.
Reynolds did not establish the gin enterprise. Nonetheless, he invested significant capital into it in 2018. Ever since the Marvel star has been promoting it heavily on his social media platforms.
This strategy has scored Aviation a 9% share of overall gin sales. And that brings us to why this formula appears to be working across the board.
What is the X-Factor Behind the Success of Celebrity Liquor?
If you think about it, the prevalence and boom of this trend is because of some of the most traditional marketing strategies…
People have parasocial relationships with celebrities already…
The products are high quality…
And, it makes the liquor seem more special than similar products. Additionally, many of today’s consumers prefer influencer marketing over scripted ads.
Liz Paquette who is head of consumer insights for online alcohol retailer, Drizly, noted:
“WHILE CONSUMERS CAN BE SOMEWHAT SKEPTICAL OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS, THERE SEEMS TO BE TRUE STAYING POWER FOR CELEBRITY-OWNED BRANDS THAT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LEVERAGE THEIR STAR POWER IN AN AUTHENTIC AND MEANINGFUL WAY, WHILE ALSO BRINGING A QUALITY PRODUCT TO MARKET. CELEBRITY-OWNED BRANDS HAVE SEEN TREMENDOUS SUCCESS ON DRIZLY, OFTEN BECOMING TOP SELLERS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE CATEGORIES.”
After seeing all the success that celebrity liquor has had, you’re probably wondering how to get a piece of this success for yourself…
How Can You Apply this to Your Business?
Now, we are not encouraging you to drop everything you’re doing to start selling spirits. However, we would encourage you to take a page from their playbook…
BECOME OMNIPRESENT.
You don’t need to be a movie star to have a lucrative business. But you need to be the first one people think of when it comes to your industry — i.e. a celebrity!
Those liquor brands have a shortcut because the public already knows them. So, to achieve similar success, you have to become known. Here are some tips in this video…
Find your star power and be great.
—GCTV Staff
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