Grey Goose
Grey Goose vodka was Sidney Frank’s (his company was made famous for introducing Jagermeister and making it a huge success) answer to the new surge for super premium vodkas in the United States during the late 1990s. The surge was brought on by the introduction of Polish vodka brand Belvedere into the market in 1996. Shortly after Frank decided that his company needed to import a high end vodka into the market as well. He quickly dispersed his team to France where they began to create and distill what is now one of the most highly regarded and well-known vodka brands in the world.
In 1997, Frank chose France because “the notion of French manufacturing having an inherent link with high perceived quality” (Wikipedia) made him think that the brand would be able to be successfully marketed to the US premium liquor market. The team chose for the vodka to be created in the Cognac region of France, north of Paris. “For centuries the most respected experts in spirits distillation have practiced their craft in the region, which is renowned for its luxury foods, wines and spirits. It's these craftsmen whose expertise and vision led to the creation of a spirit so exceptional that it redefined vodka.” (Bacardi) This also proved to be a highly useful marketing tool in order to help the brand launch.
Grey Goose’s quality is monitored and ensured by “the watchful eye of an expert, the GREY GOOSE maître de chai (cellar master), the spirit is closely monitored so as to ensure that every drop of its production exceeds expectations.” (Bacardi) In addition to a very high attention detail in order to make sure that each bottle is reflective upon the built up cache of the brand “only the finest ingredients are used, such as the golden fine French wheat and the naturally filtered spring water that creates the superior nature” (Bacardi) of the Vodka.
Such a scrutinized process must have it’s rewards and it in fact has. “In its first year of production, GREY GOOSE was hailed as "The World's Best Tasting Vodka" by the Chicago Beverage Testing Institute and was also awarded a Platinum medal at the World Spirits Championship in San Francisco, California.” (Bacardi) The success of the Grey Goose brand (so successful that Frank was able to sell it to Bacardi in 2004 for $2.2 billion [the largest single brand sale ever]) is due to having a high quality product along with the perfect mix of marketing and brand story when introducing a new brand into the marketplace.
