The King is getting PAID.
If we’ve learned anything about the liquor business in the past few years, it’s that everybody and their mother has their own product. As soon as you make a little bit of money in the entertainment world, slap your name on some booze… it seems to be the most popular business move lately.
I mean, in country music alone we have dozens and dozens of artists with their own whiskey, tequila, wine, rum, beer, mezcal… you name it.
And for some, it can be EXTREMELY lucrative.
George Clooney was a partner in a little tequila brand called Casamigos, maybe you’ve heard of it, and in 2017, Casamigos was sold to liquor giant Diageo for a whooping $1 billion. Billion… with a B.
A few years later, Ryan Reynold did the same thing with his Aviation Gin brand, selling to Diageo for a cool $610 million.
Meanwhile The Rock has his tequila brand, Teremana, moving cases and cases by minute. In 2021, over 600,000 cases of Teremana were sold, breaking the record for most ever by a tequila company in its first full year of business. Still positioned as a small-batch operation, there could be a big check in The Rock’s future as well should he decide to sell it.
And while Casamigos is pretty solid, Aviation is fine if you like gin (I’m not a big fan) and The Rock’s Teremana is decent, if you want quality tequila, look no further than George Strait’s Código 1530 tequila.
It’s DAMN good.
And now, French alcohol conglomerate, Pernod Ricard, officially bought majority stake in Código 1530 for an undisclosed amount.
According to Drinks International, Pernod Ricard chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard explained the move:
“Código’s range of tequilas reinforces our offer of ultra premium plus agave products in the US, where the category is enjoying a very strong momentum.
It is a privilege to partner with Ron Snyder, Federico Vaughan and George Strait with whom we share a common vision for Código 1530 and common ambition to strongly accelerate and strengthen the success of the brand.”
Código 1530 co-founder Ron Snyder also weighed in:
“Our goal for Código has always been to produce and share the best possible tequila. What started as simply enjoying our tasty tequila with friends in Mexico, quickly grew into an aspiration to share Código with discerning consumers around the world.
To gain the backing of Pernod Ricard is a powerful alliance, and a logical progression that will benefit consumers with an expanded reach through our collaborative growth. We look forward to working closely with Alex, Ann & the Pernod Ricard team as we build our brand globally.”
This has more than likely been the result of the huge growth in popularity of tequila, which surpassed vodka as a favorite in 2021.
Código 1530 was founded in 2016 by former Crocs CEO Ron Snyder and Federico Vaughan, along with investment partners George Strait, former NHL star Brett Hull, and former NFL coach Mike Shanahan, who branded and bottled a local family recipe that had been passed down for generations.
Pernod Ricard also owns Malibu, Absolut, Chivas, Jameson, The Glenlivet, Beefeater, Avion, Jefferson’s Altos, and many more.
Congrats to George and the rest of the Código crew, I’m sure it’ll be great to celebrate that big bag of money with some… tequila.
Cue it up:
