With so much news about how the Covid-19 pandemic has devastated small businesses, especially related to food service and bars, it was nice today to hear the story of an emerging brand that seems to be finding positive lessons in the quarantine era.
YaVe is a new premium tequila that had just been setting out on an ambitious growth strategy for 2020 when the pandemic hit, forcing its owners and team to shift their priorities.
The results are pretty fascinating, as documented by Adweek contributor Leslie Blount today. The brand found that, much like the cannabis industry has learned, the brick-and-mortar lockdown led to a new focus on digital and ecommerce.
That, along with YaVe's digital community building and long-term distributing planning, has left the brand surprisingly well prepared for the months ahead rather than inescapably far behind its growth goals.
Another fun fact we learned from this story is that sales of tequila by the bottle are up 55% over the past 8 weeks compared to the same period in 2019, which makes sense when you think about the fact that people aren't able to get their drinks at bars anymore.
That could mean some long-term benefits for brands like YaVe, with consumers more aware of and connected to the spirits brands they're buying rather than just seeing them in cocktail ingredient lists.
Wishing you a festive, albeit homebound Cinco de Mayo,
David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com
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