“At Cointreau, we’re proud to be a leader in modern cocktail culture. We wanted to use the 170th anniversary to bring The Art of the Mix ethos to life and give Cointreau enthusiasts around the globe the opportunity to interact with our brand in a new way.”
That’s how Rémy Cointreau CEO of Liqueurs & Spirits Jean-Denis Voin describes the recent celebration of the orange liqueur brand’s 170th anniversary, which was marked by a spectacular gala night in Paris on 12 June and later by a four-day festival that was open the public at the elegant Pavillon Elysée.
As we reported last week, the gala (attended by The Moodie Davitt Report) attracted close to 400 guests, among them senior management from Rémy Cointreau, retail partners, influencers and international media.
At the heart of the experience was the colourful Cointreau Le Cocktail Show, which displayed the art of cocktail making to guests. It was centred around four cocktails influenced by Cointreau – the Margarita, the Sidecar, the Cosmopolitan, and the Cointreau Fizz—with guests invited to test their mixology skills, take part in workshops and learn from bartenders from around the world who created updated versions of these classics.
As reported, ‘Le Cocktail Show’ has also come to travel retail, initially through a partnership with Gebr Heinemann at Copenhagen Airport in April. This invited travellers to ‘be part of the mix’, highlighting Cointreau’s heritage and versatility in its anniversary year. The activation will roll out to selected airports elsewhere from August.
A key strategic brand
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report, Jean-Denis Voin outlines the significance of the anniversary for the brand. “Cointreau is one of the key strategic brands for the company and of course lends its name to the group.” [That followed the 1990 merger of holding companies owned by the Hériard Dubreuil and Cointreau families, which controlled E. Rémy Martin & Cie and Cointreau & Cie, respectively – Ed].
He adds: “Cointreau has significant strategic importance given its size but also its global reach across the five continents. The USA is the number one market, ahead of France and UK, with travel retail also very important traditionally and one that offers a great showcase. Our best airport sales are in fact in Australia, far from home.”
After a brand review around two and a half years ago, the company took a strategic decision to reinforce Cointreau’s links to the cocktail in its messaging, with the cocktail trend becoming stronger around the world.
Voin says: “Cointreau has a lot of legitimacy as it is a core ingredient in 350 classic cocktail recipes – from the Margarita, the Cosmopolitan, the White Lady, the Sidecar and many others. All the great bartenders have endorsed Cointreau as the best mixer because of its balance and quality. That means that technically, it’s a great product.
“But image-wise too it was important to keep it at the edge of its time and on trend. In some traditional markets there is still the image of the drink that is for an older generation, but that is really only France and UK. In Australia, USA, China, Russia, Cointreau has a strong following among the younger adult cocktail drinkers.”
It must be a tricky balance to remain true to 170-year-old values while reinventing a brand for a new generation, so how does that process work, we ask?
“It’s a constant conversation,” says Voin. “We want to be true to our roots and heritage but we are looking at the future and want to continue to be at the cutting edge. So we have to keep changing the way the brand is expressed. That is key for any historical brand. We don’t change the core message or ingredients but its visual identity, design and so on must evolve.”
Leading the cocktail culture, as the stated aspiration of management, is not simply about being a mixer in popular drinks. “Cocktail culture is the drink, but it’s also the atmosphere and the experience, which we convey with Le Cocktail Show and in other ways,” says Voin. “We work in this way across on-trade, the off-trade and in GTR, where our position is to offer a strong activation package around Le Cocktail Show. That builds awareness, and allows us to invite travellers and give them ideas about what is possible once they arrive home.
“Having started with success with Heinemann in Copenhagen, we will do more later in year. We have many tiers of activation at airports but with Le Cocktail Show it can add value to passengers – not only because they can buy but through the opportunity to entertain them as well.”
Travel retail, he added, is both valuable showcase and revenue driver. “Given our size it must be both,” says Voin. “We use it as a window, and it gives access to the right consumer aged from 25 to 45 years old. We are not an initiation brand; really it is for a premium consumer base.”
That consumer base is increasingly in China and Russia as well as the traditional major US market. “The USA remains vital, is so dynamic for cocktail activity and we’ve had a lot of success there with the Art of the Mix campaign,” says Voin.
“China is a success story with a lot of recent investment. Three years ago it was a tiny business but now we have a dedicated organisation that focuses on cocktail bars, one that is very separate from the Rémy Martin business. We are really seen as a brand that is for the young and trendy, is also more driven by female consumers and importantly, by the growing number of female bar tenders in China.”
So what will be the next steps in the Cointreau journey?
“It’s about always working on fresh awareness as generations change and still being seen as the reference in cocktails. Once people get into the cocktail initiation we have to be seen as the heart of the drink. So we have always to ask, how do we drink it and what part does it play? And all the while with an expression and communication that goes with the times.”
The Master Distiller view
In maintaining the brand’s values, Master Distiller Carole Quinton plays a key role from her base in Angers, the historical home of the brand.
From the selection of ingredients to their blending, from distillation to finished product, Quinton has been the guardian of the orange liqueur’s heritage since spring 2016 – and the sixth in all since it was created by Édouard Cointreau in 1849.
“This anniversary is a big milestone,” she reflects. “It’s an occasion to have a celebration around Cointreau, to showcase what the brand represents and to allow people to discover it.”
“We protect our core values of Terroir, Time and People. With our terroir it is my job as Master Distiller to ensure our orange peels come from many different countries and are used and mixed well. The Art of the Mix for me is to blend all of these very different peels, which is done by hand, by people who understand what we do using all of their senses. It needs time too; from planting an orange tree it takes seven years to produce the peels we need so that is part of the legacy.”
As Voin also notes above, Cointreau’s versatility will be critical to maintaining its relevance now and perhaps even for another 170 years.
Quinton says: “With Le Cocktail show we can display the versatility of the drink, but it’s not only about mixology. There is a strong connection to gastronomy, and we have close collaboration with chefs to pair food with Cointreau. This is an important way to develop the message, through the F&B world and not only the world of bars.”
Today, sustainability is just as vital, to stakeholders in the company and to consumers.
“For the last three years I have worked hard on how we source orange peel; the challenges around raw materials are always sensitive.
“With our terroir I want to ensure all orange peels are sustainable. I was in Brazil recently to encourage our partners to move in this direction, to exchange with them on how we can reuse peels, but also how they farm and cultivate the trees, where they are placed, how they are managed, the use of water, pesticides and so on. They are important conversations.”
The focus on what Quinton terms “exceptional quality” and protection of traditional values while looking to the future will define Cointreau’s success, she adds.
“What is so good about Cointreau is that it has always been about innovation. It has always been a house that has grown with time and remained modern. Today it is about continuing that work and taking the legacy forward. We are aiming to do that well into the future.”
IMAGES FROM LE COCKTAIL SHOW IN PARIS
As reported, The Moodie Davitt Report was in Paris for the 170th anniversary celebrations. Below we feature some of the images from a memorable night.