Grey Goose VP of Marketing, Aleco Azqueta, spills the latest on the brand's viral US Open cocktail
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00It's the official cocktail of the U.S. Open, but quite frankly, it's really the logo of
00:07the U.S. Open.
00:08If you ask me, I've been coming here for 10 years, Alejo Azceta, the VP of Marketing of
00:12Grey Goose, here with the Grey Goose Honey Deuce.
00:15Let's go back to the beginning.
00:16Yeah.
00:1717 years ago.
00:18How did it happen?
00:19Well, I have to give credit to Nick Matone, who is a managing partner of Gramercy Tavern,
00:23a New Yorker, and we had tasked him with creating the perfect cocktail for the U.S. Open.
00:28Nick was strolling through Long Island Farmer's Market, and he actually noticed someone scooping
00:33out a melon ball, and he's like, oh my God, these look like little tennis balls.
00:38So that was inspiration for the iconic garnish.
00:40And then he wanted to create a cocktail that was sweet enough to be delicious, but tart
00:45enough to go with stadium fair, and that you could drink during the day and during the
00:48evening, and just very simple.
00:50Grey Goose, natural lemonade, raspberry liqueur, and the honey deuce was born.
00:55So did we know right away you hit the spot?
00:59Well, I was part of the original team, so I got to taste it right away, and I knew it
01:03was delicious, but it's really taken on a life of its own.
01:06So for example, their first year, we sold under 20,000 cocktails, and this year we'll
01:11be doing close to half a million honey deuce cocktails.
01:14Half a million by $23 adds up to?
01:20Around $10 million, but we don't set the prices for the cocktail, but it really is a testament
01:25to why we are the number one cocktail in all of sports, because I think just the anticipation
01:29of coming to the U.S. Open, having a Grey Goose honey deuce, and people just absolutely
01:34love this cocktail.
01:35So we sold how many last year?
01:38So last year, to round it off, we'll say 450,000, and we're already up over 36% over where we
01:44were tracking last year at this time.
01:46Up 36%.
01:48How many do you believe you could sell this year?
01:51Well, we're going for half a million.
01:52So that was our internal goal going into it, and I think we will blow away that number.
01:58So you mentioned 20,000 that first year.
02:00Was there a year that you said, wow, something happened, something changed, when was it,
02:05and why do you think?
02:06Yeah, I think a really key point was during the pandemic, when actually fans weren't allowed
02:11here in the stadium.
02:13So people realized that, okay, now I'm watching the U.S. Open, and I can't have a honey deuce.
02:17So what we did that year was we actually created honey deuce delivery kits, and we
02:22saw just how well it was received.
02:25But then coming out of the pandemic, we really saw just people wanting, and then their love
02:30for the honey deuce.
02:31And that's when it really tipped.
02:32You started seeing it on social media coming through.
02:35So although it's been an upward progression, it's really been in the last, I would say,
02:40three years when this has taken on a life of its own.
02:42What role did social media play in the growth of this beverage?
02:46So people really want to show that they're not only at the U.S. Open, but they're experiencing
02:50the U.S. Open.
02:52And Grey Goose, it's all about elevating what's already an incredible experience.
02:55And what we like to say on the brand, we bring joie de vivre to the occasion.
02:59And the honey deuce, just looking at it, I mean, just the pink color, the melon balls,
03:03and then it's in this commemorative glass that's become a collector's piece.
03:06TikTok versus Instagram, are those the two areas you've seen the most growth organically?
03:11Yes, absolutely.
03:13I think we see it on Instagram because it photographs so well.
03:17But in TikTok, it's great because, you know, you get people actually create their own little
03:21stories and vignettes around the honey deuce.
03:23And there was also an unintentional shot that has now gone viral in this year's tournament.
03:28What happened?
03:29A gentleman bought a couple of honey deuces and he was bringing it to someone and someone
03:33else jumped in front of him and gave that lady a honey deuce.
03:35We are trying to find this person.
03:37So if your viewers know who he is, please DM our Grey Goose account and we'll be happy
03:41to send him a Grey Goose honey deuce kit.
03:43And now my obvious question is, how do you not say, all right, let's sell this all year
03:47round?
03:48Let's try to really extend this beyond the U.S. Open.
03:51Yes.
03:52We have a lot of amazing signature cocktails that we already work on and we are the vodka
03:55for the martini.
03:56We're like the number one vodka for the martini.
03:58The espresso martini is super hot right now.
04:00But the honey deuce's moment, it's where it shines, is during the U.S. Open.
04:04So we really think people love this drink so much because they can only really have
04:09it during the three weeks of the U.S. Open.
04:11And it's the anticipation of going to the U.S. Open and having a honey deuce.
04:15And we would never want to impede on that experience.
04:18There is a tennis player that you've partnered with.
04:20Yes.
04:21Who is it and why is it such a good fit?
04:22Yeah.
04:23So we're super excited.
04:24Always try to bring something fresh to our partnership with the U.S. Open.
04:27And this year we partnered with our American tennis sensation, Francis Tiafoe.
04:32And Francis really embodies everything that we love about tennis.
04:36He brings the joy of tennis, the way he celebrates.
04:39He always has a smile on his face and he's also the epitome of that balanced lifestyle.
04:43So not only is he a great athlete, but he's also super stylish as well and he's great
04:49with the fans.
04:50And let's expand beyond the Open.
04:51What trends are you seeing in spirits overall?
04:54With spirits, people are really still looking for something that's like elevated.
04:58With Grey Goose, that's something that we do as a brand.
05:00There's a difference between an espresso martini and a Grey Goose espresso martini.
05:04People know that they're out there.
05:05They're having a sophisticated experience.
05:07They want to go somewhere that's really going to elevate the moment.
05:10And we're the perfect brand to complement that.
05:12Cheers to the $10 million cocktail.
05:14You said it's the top cocktail in all of sports.
05:19There you have it.
05:20Cheers.