Beverage World - October 15, 2007 - (Page 16)

BEVBEAT NEW BEVERAGES Sustainable Style A new premium açaí spirit offers a better tasting cocktail that’s better for the Earth. By Heather Landi A 16_BEVERAGE WORLD_OCTOBER 2007 » new premium spirit, VeeV, is taking hold among the young and fashionable in Southern California by combining two of the hottest consumer trends right now—the Brazilian açaí berry and eco-friendly business practices. Two entrepreneurial brothers, Courtney and Carter Reum, who both also happen to be former Goldman Sachs investment bankers, left Wall Street in 2006 and used their experience working with start-up brands, such as glacéau’s vitaminwater and Under Armour performance gear, to launch their own spirits venture in Los Angeles. “As a consumer, I was tired of drinking another vodka soda or another Red Bull and vodka, and I wanted something that was a little better quality and differentiated, so that spawned our whole tagline of “‘a better way to drink’,” says Courtney Reum. The two brothers discovered the açaí berry while on a surfing trip down in Brazil back in 2003 and became fans of the exotic fruit for its distinctive taste and health benefits. The dark purple berry, which is grown in the Amazon rainforest, is believed to be one of the healthiest foods on the planet with more antioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries, more anthocyanins than red wine, and is high in protein, fiber and essential fatty acids. VeeV partnered with Distilled Resources, Inc., a distiller in Rigby, Id., USA, to create the product by fusing the açaí berry with 100-percent natural ingredients, including prickly pear, acerola cherry, ginseng and a hand-crafted, column-distilled base wheat spirit. Acerola cherry has 30 times the vitamin C of an orange and prickly pear is a proven hangover cure that also adds a smooth finish to the spirit, which is 30 percent alcohol by volume, Reum notes. VeeV launched in the Los Angeles area in May at a select number of bar and nightclub hotspots where mixologists have crafted a number of signature cocktails, such as the VeeV Zentini and VeeV Hibiscus Julep. The brand since has rolled out to San Diego and San Francisco and Reum says the company plans to launch VeeV in Florida markets followed by New York City by the end of the year. The açaí berry’s status as a sustainable agricultural product that provides financial support for farmers in the Amazon rainforest presented the Reum brothers with an opportunity to incorporate a number of green initiatives into the brand platform. For every bottle sold, VeeV donates $1 to help protect and replenish the Amazon rainforest through its charitable partners Rainforest Action Network and Sambazon’s Sustainable Açaí Project (for more on this organization, see Sambazon’s Green Teams profile on Page 31). This effort also helps to offset the carbon output of VeeV’s business activities and maximizes its social responsibility in combating global warming. With a vision of running a sustainable, eco-friendly company, VeeV conducts regular “green” audits of its business activities. Members of the company’s sales force are equipped with hybrid cars and the company uses recycled paper and soy ink for its press materials as well as recycled packaging whenever possible. “Our vision is, ‘better your life, your conscience and your cocktail,’ and these green initiatives complete our vision and bring it full circle,” Reum says. And, despite the “in today, out tomorrow” fads that make one flavor or fruit hot for a few months, Reum believes the açaí berry’s story and healthful properties combined with Veev’s environmental initiatives has positioned the brand for long-term growth. “There are other people that are going to come along and make other açaí spirits and are going to donate $1 for every bottle they sell, but I think there’s something to be said for people recognizing that we were the first to do it,” he says. BW veevlife.com VEEV, the first açaí spirit, has a smooth, clean taste that can be enjoyed neat or on the rocks or mixed with other ingredients for flavorful cocktails, such as the VeeV-ito. BEVERAGEWORLD.COM http://veevlife.com http://www.beverageworld.com/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Beverage World - October 15, 2007

Beverage World - October 15, 2007 Table of Contents Global Recycling Trends Editor’s Note CCE’s Recycling Initiative New Beverages: VeeV New Beverage Roundup Market Metrics: Green-Minded Consumers Cover Story: Earth’s Brewer Adina World Beat Beverages • Fetzer Vineyards Kim Jeffery, Nestlé Waters North America Sambazon Icelandic Water Holdings John Compton, PepsiCo North America Dennis Puffer, Coors Brewing Co. ITO EN Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. • Cuca Fresca Exports Jeff Seabright, The Coca-Cola Company Mendocino Wine Co. Doug Muhleman, Anheuser-Busch Seth Goldman, Honest Tea Supply Chain: Waste Management Production: Environmental Operations Operations Observations Packaging: Lightweight Bottles Trendspotting R&D: Eco Beverages • Ask the Expert Sales & Marketing: Green POS Materials Distribution: Green Fleets Distribution: Fleet of the Month: Manhattan Beer Distributors FleetBeat The Beverage World Top 100 Classifieds Ad Index

Beverage World - October 15, 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.