How To Build A Craft Spirits Brand By Modernizing A Classic Category | Amaretto Adriatico | Jean-Robert Bellanger | 129

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Chris Maffeo is welcoming Jean-Robert Bellanger, co-founder of Amaretto Adriatico, the new-generation amaretto brand from Puglia available in more than 40 countries.

How do you build a brand in a category nobody is paying attention to?
Why does drink strategy matter more than product quality alone?
How do you manage a portfolio across different ABV levels and limited editions without losing focus?
And why is reinventing something that already exists always more powerful than inventing something from scratch?

Find all episodes featuring Jean-Robert Bellanger at themaffeodrinkspodcast.com.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introduction, BCB Berlin and launching Amaretto Adriatico just before COVID
• 01:33 Reviving the amaretto category, the Amaretto Sour and what Jeffrey Morgenthaler changed
• 04:57 Why most amaretto is no longer made with almonds and the gap Amaretto Adriatico was built to fill
• 08:17 Movement as a brand strategy, how new recipes recruit new drinkers into a category
• 13:25 Spotting cocktails versus inventing them, Campari and the Negroni, Aperol and the Spritz
• 18:36 The three SKU portfolio, how Adriatico Roasted, Bianco and Zero came about
• 24:20 How different markets consume the product, Italy versus UK versus America
• 30:09 The role of the homeland, why being distributed by Velier in Italy opened every door after
• 33:44 Boots on the ground, why distribution without people on the field is useless
• 40:00 Collaborations as a brand building tool, from cognac cocktail kits to chocolate in duty free
• 49:45 Limited editions, Evan Williams bourbon cask, Caroni, Bonollo Grappa and Maison Ferrand cognac
• 53:00 The US push and final thoughts, go where nobody else is and do not read IWSR data alone

This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS.

MAFFEO DRINKS is a leading drinks business podcast, listened to in 120 countries with 130+ episodes. How the industry actually works, from the bar and what it means for the boardroom.

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