- Unwinding the Thread
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- Beauty + Tequila = $$$
You’re at the bar and you look up behind the bartender. To the top shelf. Usually, the very top shelf. A bottle catches your eye. Whether due to recognition or simply aesthetics, all of a sudden you’re locking eyes with a bottle of Clase Azul.
As described by Tequila Raiders (a website I have only just discovered but will give my full trust considering their name):
“Clase Azul is one of, if not the most recognizable “splurge” tequilas on the market.”
Priced anywhere from the low $100s to $10K+, their iconic bottle does all the talking.
Founded around the turn of the 21st century by Arturo Lomeli, an entrepreneur with a background in ceramics and tequila-making, Clase Azul began with a bold vision.
“He wanted to make high-quality tequila and put it in bottles so beautiful that they would only be upcycled.”
Soon, the company would join forces with Tomás Zaldívar, who had already been working with artisans in Santa Maria on ceramics perfect to shepherd Clase Azul tequila to the discerning masses.
The turning point came from an averted disaster.
Seemingly hoping to join the ranks of The Rock and other celebs with their own tequila brands, Clase Azul was propositioned by a group of A-listers seeking to buy their own vanity project. The two parties came to an agreement… then the ‘08 financial crisis came and the deal fell through.
The result?
Clase Azul was left with double the inventory and not nearly enough cash.
They would have to drastically cut spend and rely on word-of-mouth marketing to survive. An impossible task for most brands, but Clase Azul had a secret weapon: Their bottle.
“Each bottle is painted by native Mexican artisans in the tiny village of Clase Azul Tequila. The bottles are carefully molded, polished, glazed, and painted. There are eight lines under Clase Azul, each of which has a beautiful and unique design.“
And no, not the contents of the bottle (though, that is pretty good too), but their physical ceramic bottle. It was unique. It caught the eye. And it was memorable. All the things traditional marketing agencies spend millions to achieve was baked into their operations from the get-go.
Their bottles were such a hit that to this day, people are willing to pay real money for empties — to be repurposed as decoration. It’s kinda like the college apartment where frat bros stack their empty bottles to flex to their friends (and provide a physical manifestation of the declining state of their livers), but for rich adults.
Candles are maybe the most popular.
But this $160 lamp is a pretty big draw too.
I could go on and on, but I’m lazy and it’s 6:55am.
Anyway, the point is: Beautiful design can be the golden bullet. Would this strategy have paid off if Clase Azul made shit tequila? No (maybe?). But quality plus bespoke product design will win every time.
Even though it may be seen as a superfluous expense when looking at it as a line item in their COGS, it’s worth every penny when you consider the earned marketing dollars they don’t need to pay a dime for.
By 2019, the company received a $1B acquisition offer.
They turned it down.