Equiano update
Equiano update
Please download the following brochure for more information: Equiano-a-worlds-first.pdf
Each quarter I plan to update you on developments and progress that we're making now that we have officially launched in the UK.
Firstly can I start by saying we're immensely proud of securing worldwide acclaim for our liquid having just won 3 of the most prestigious international spirits awards - and we only have applied for three!
We won gold for Spirits Selection - Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Out of the 1770 different spirits from 59 countries, 102 expert tasters from 29 countries, Equiano was one of 13 traditional rums to have picked up a gold medal within our category. On top of this we also won gold at the International Spirits Challenge, again entirely blind tasted and only a few rums in the world have secured the top spot for the best 5-10 year aged rum. As well as silver with 90 points out of 100 for the International wine and spirits competition.
Quite simply this means we're one of the top ten 5-10 year aged rums in the world, which is a massive achievement for all the team who have worked so hard to bring this product to market, and also to our distillers who are collaborating together to make this all happen.
As I am sure you know, just a few weeks back we showcased at Rumfest on the trade day and we had a phenomenal response from bar owners, restaurateurs, importers, distributors, connoisseurs and collectors alike.
Off the back of that we put out our first trade press announcement (please see the press release attached). We are pleased to have support by:
- Spirits Business voting us top 10 launches worldwide in October
- Rumming
- Drinks Retailing News
- Spirits Business
- Imbibe
- The Grocer
More to come on the press front as we set up to launch to consumers in the new year.
We are also incredibly pleased to have welcomed Matt Aeppli into the team. He has held senior marketing roles at Coca Cola, Diageo, Absolut Co and was CMO at Pernod Ricard USA for many years. Matt has already made an impact, as this week we have appointed our importer into the USA which is Park Street.
We are now going through the legalities on label printing, but we plan to launch in Florida and New York State at the end of Q1 next year. What is great about Park Street is we skip the three tier system in the USA, meaning our importer can also distribute direct to accounts which will ultimately mean we can secure on and off trade accounts quicker next year.
On top of this, we are now in talks with distributors and accounts in the UK as we warm them up to start making sales in the new year when our first batch of 5,400 x 70cl bottles land.
If you are in London then you will start to see our bottle on the back bar in all the main hot spots, namely Laki Kane, Trailer Happiness, The Mandrake, Sketch, Gold in Nottinghill, One Percy Street right now, with many more to follow.
Lastly for those of you eager to get your hands on a first bottle then please do pre-order from our website, if you type in the promo code AWORLDSFIRST then this will give you 30% off the RRP and liquid will be sent to you in January.
Other than that please do follow us on instagram and facebook now that we're set up.
More to follow at the start of the new year, if you can please have a think about any relevant introductions or contacts you can make for Equiano then we'd be really grateful.
Best,
Oli and the Equiano team.