Nuvo sparkles in TT

Nuvo is the name — a sparkling liqueur made from premium French vodka, a touch of delicate sparkling white wine and infused with passion fruit nectar. The creative genius behind Nuvo is Raphael Yakoby, the man who created another popular liqueur, Hpnotiq.

Those in the know or on the party scene, as they say, would likely have sampled contraband Nuvo within the last year or so as the drink has gained attention in the Caribbean but was not yet available on store shelves.

When Nuvo’s marketing and promotions team got wind of this growing trend, they decided it was time to launch the pink drink in key Caribbean markets — Jamaica, TT, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Panama.

On March 22, Jamaica’s hip crowd got to taste the drink legally. Then on April 2, it was TT’s turn with a launch party at Brian Lara’s house on Lady Chancellor Hill. The other islands will have their turn over the next month.

The Leeward Islands will get their “Nuvo roll-out” in the first quarter of June. The team chose the aforementioned six islands because they are considered the most influential in the region.

Business Day sat down with Nuvo’s New York-based vice-president of marketing and promotions John Vasquez and Florida-based brand manager Dallas Foster, the day before the party to find out what makes this drink so special.

The current marketing strategy is based on the successful one they applied in 2007 in New York and Florida when Nuvo was first introduced to the market.

“Those are two of three key markets in the United States, Los Angeles being the third. When I saw the Nuvo package, I thought of the influential people I knew in Florida, the athletes, stars, singers. I wanted to give them a bottle so they could spread the word. Word-of-mouth is the best type of promotion. I gave bottles to Dwayne Wade and Mario Chalmers from the Miami Heat, Jason Taylor from the Miami Dolphins, rappers Missy Elliott and Rick Ross and music producer Timbaland,” Foster said.

Vasquez agreed, telling Business Day ‘word-of-mouth’ is the best way to successfully market a new brand or product.

“No, we didn’t start with advertisements. You can’t taste ads. From the beginning it was liquid to lips. A lot of tastings in liquor stores, that’s where we started first. We didn’t want to start in the clubs because it’s too noisy, people go there knowing what they’re going to drink already. A new brand in a club doesn’t go over well,” he said.

Nuvo comes in three sizes — 200 millilitres (ml), 375ml and 750ml but is only available in TT in the largest size for an average supermarket price of $250.

In the United States it is a bit cheaper, depending on how much you pay — a 750ml bottle ranges from US$28.99 to $32.99. The 200ml goes for US$9.99 to $12.99 while the 375ml can cost US$15.99 to $21.99.

Vasquez and Foster met the local Nuvo sales representatives, from AS Bryden, on April 1. He believes it is key to Nuvo’s success that sales teams are energised about the new product they have to convince customers to stock on their ‘top-shelf’.

“Unless they are excited about a new project, they don’t go in heavily promoting new drink. So you have to go in and really pump them up. So when they meet clients they can say ‘If you don’t know about Nuvo, this is what is happening in the States. This is what they are going to be doing here, this is how you drink it and how you can mix it,” he said.

Jamaica’s Lady Saw and Tifa have signed on, now it’s the turn of TT artistes to sign endorsement deals. Who are they? All Business Day can tell you at this time is Nuvo has “great interest in developing relationships with local artistes and even more so after the fantastic experience the team had while in Trinidad.”

Foster did say we could reveal this clue — “one of the artistes that (performed) at the launch is a strong possibility. So basically by attending the launch you would know who I’m talking about. Always keep a little mystery.”

Machel Montano, Kees Diffenthaller and Iwer George all performed at the April 1 event, so start guessing.

It all comes back to the ‘‘influencers’’ in the local market, as Foster phrased it during our interview.

“We put Nuvo on the TT market during Carnival 2011 because it was already being smuggled into the country. Lost profits aside, we are very concerned about making sure Nuvo is represented properly wherever it is consumed. Since Nuvo is the world’s first sparkling liqueur that drinks like champagne, there are actually techniques to serving it,” he said.

Foster said one must never open Nuvo warm, instead treat it like champagne and chill it first. Do not insert a pouring spout because it has a twist cap. Once you open the bottle, Nuvo can maintain its carbonation because it’s a twist-top but it must be refridgerated. It has a two-week shelf-life once opened.

“These things are very important when you’re launching a brand because it if is misrepresented, people may get the wrong impression or taste and could complain it was ‘flat’ or didn’t taste good,” Foster noted.

There are many ways to drink Nuvo but Foster and Vasquez have their favourites. Foster said “it’s all about the mood. Nuvo and champagne half-and-half by the pool. When I’m at the club and I really want to get the party going, It’s Nuvo and tequila. When I have friends over and really want to have fun, I make a pink Long Island Iced Tea.”

Vasquez however prefers “chilled Nuvo in a champagne glass or cup when I want to relax but if I want a cocktail, I mix it with a splash of cognac on top with ice.”

Wondering about the versatility of Nuvo? According to Foster it can be mixed with “any rum, scotch, cognac or vodka. Add Nuvo to it and it becomes something fruity and different. That’s what makes the ‘‘mixability’’ a little different, especially for men. We always say women love Nuvo and guys like it. Guys, make sure you have a bottle at your table because it will draw in the ladies.”

The shape of the bottle also has an interesting back-story. Nuvo is carbonated and has 15 pounds of pressure but the design team was able to come up with a bottle shape that allowed them to produce the first carbonated beverage in a square container.

It took two years to come up with a workable shape, hence the heavy, rounded base of the Nuvo bottle.