Consumers Embrace the “Truth”: Sobieski Vodka, Poland’s #1 Premium Vodka, Topples All Prior Records for a New Spirit to Achieve the 255,000-Case Sales Milestone, Continuing to Prove the Quality is in the Bottle, Not in the Price

Dramatic Sales Growth Earns “Hot Brand” Award of the Year

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (FoodBizDaily) Sobieski Vodka, Poland’s #1 premium vodka, today announced that the brand had broken all prior records for a newly-introduced spirit to reach the 255,000-case sales milestone, as of the end of calendar year 2008. Through its creative “Truth in Vodka” campaign, Sobieski Vodka urges consumers to focus on what’s in the bottle—authenticity, quality and heritage—not gimmicky marketing nor fancy packaging. This straightforward message debunks the myths surrounding overpriced vodka and has clearly resounded with consumers who have embraced this honest, back-to-basics spirit in record numbers.

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Last year, Sobieski’s “less is more” positioning approach turned heads and won fans. This year, the winning tactic gives it stronger footing in an ever-changing market.

By Elyse Glickman

It’s hard to believe that at this time last year, the Vodka category was booming. From 2002-2008, there was an unprecedented number of new vodka launches that underscored how enduring and versatile this spirit category was. Furthermore, cocktail culture was coming of age from coast to coast, and vodka was one of the spirits that drove its popularity. It was also safe to say that a number of entrepreneurs had found many ways to reinvent that wheel.

In the midst of vodka-mania, Poland’s Sobieski Vodka was launched in the U.S. in 2007, under the auspices of Imperial Brands’ CEO/President Chester Brandes and Marketing and Business Development VP Timo Sutinen. Both individuals have a long history of experience in the industry selling and marketing premium brands which include among others; Stolichnaya and Finlandia Vodkas, Amaretto di Saronno, Remy Martin Cognacs and Cruzan Rums. However, in a category where celebrity endorsements, designer glass bottles and high tech distillation claims abound, Brandes and Sutinen dared to take the road less traveled and launched Sobieski vodka with a then-controversial proposition: a truly great vodka could be priced reasonably, and be free of all the extra bells and whistles!

The Vodka boom may be cooling, and the outlook for some high profile brands has chilled during this wintery economic period. Palm Beach Gardens, Florida-based Imperial Brands, however, is just warming up and shifting their successful “Truth in Vodka” story into a higher gear. Though the media campaign was initially launched in summer 2007, it is now being executed in an economic environment where trade and consumers are ready to embrace the truth and see the light.

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