A $3 million party last night on New York’s Liberty Island celebrated the launch of a new vodka in the U.S., delivered direct from the liquor’s roots, Russia.
A 43-year old Russian, Roustam Tariko, made himself a billionaire selling his Russian Standard vodka brand at home, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The new super premium brand, Imperia, is entering a crowded market. Over the last five years, about 200 new vodkas or line extensions have hit the U.S. market.
Russian Standard, Tariko’s company, plans a marketing spend of $5.5 million to promote Imperia this year, a number expected to rise to $9.5 million in 2006, the report said. He will market the brand as a must-have for the rich.
The Wall Street Journal compared Russian Standard’s spend to that of Grey Goose, which spent an estimated $24 million to promote its line of vodkas last year.
The company is off on good footing. It has partnered with the U.S.’s biggest distributor of alcoholic beverages, Southern Wine & Spirits, to get the liquor on store shelves.
