Mexican brand Sotol Romo is being launched in the US alongside a marketing campaign focused on New York City and Long Island.
The sotol will be available through New York distributor Empire Merchants “this summer”. Empire has already secured listings for Sotol Romo in venues including Casa Carmen, Morton’s The Steakhouse, the Ritz Carlton and Waldorf Astoria in New York, and Feniks, Pierre’s and T-Bar in the Hamptons on Long Island.
Sotol Romo, a joint venture between founder Claudia Romo Edelman and New York-based brand owner Casa Komos Beverage Group, will also be available online and in the off-premise at an SRP of US$79 for the blanco expression and $89 for the reposado.
The brand’s US rollout is accompanied by a marketing push that includes an 80-second advert (above). The spot is part of a video series called ‘Flavours of Sotol’, featuring New York restaurants and bars that serve sotol. The clips will be shared via the brand’s social media channels. A series of educational videos has also been released on the brand’s website, “to help people learn more about the category”.
Alongside video content, Edelman has created an interactive map showing Sotol Romo vendors across New York State (below). Each bar on the map links to a video in the ‘Flavours of Sotol’ series.
“We are deeply committed to the accounts building this category with us,” said Edelman. “Sotol Romo will invest heavily in education, content creation and digital storytelling to create real consumer excitement around the bartenders, retailers and communities bringing this spirit to life.”
Asked about future expansion plans, Edelman told Global Drinks Intel: “Right now, our expansion strategy is heavily focused on vertical depth rather than horizontal reach. We are concentrating entirely on New York City and the Hamptons to establish a solid proof of concept and use NYC as a master case study.
“Once we have fully conquered and mastered this market, our secondary phase of expansion will possibly target Florida, Illinois, Texas and California.”
Speaking to Global Drinks Intel earlier this year, Edelman said consumer education remains the primary challenge for sotol brand owners: “Most simply do not know what sotol is,” she said. “That’s where the real work is: education, storytelling and creating experiences that allow people to discover it.”
