Campari Group, a US-based spirits company, has partnered with Jawalakhel Group of Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of alcoholic beverages in Nepal, for bottling and distribution of Skyy Vodka brand in Nepal. The Post caught up with Thomas Mayr, director of marketing for Asia of Campari, recently, and had a brief chat about the group’s marketing strategy for Nepal. Excerpts:

What is the Campari Group?

Campari Group is the world’s sixth-largest premium spirit company, headquartered in Milan, US. We have a very long history since 1860. It’s a group that started with Campari until the mid-90s when we started as a group to acquire new brands. So, our groups have been a mix of organic and inorganic growth. We have now a diversified portfolio of more than 50 brands across all the categories of spirits curated to different consumer tastes. We have a great portfolio of Italian brands in the aperitifs and Aperol spirits, which is one of the fastest-growing trendy cocktails in the world, including Negroni, which is the number one classic cocktail in the world. We also have a growing portfolio of brown spirits that includes Glen Grant single malt scotch whisky, Blended scotch whisky, Cognac, Bourbon whisky, and Canadian whisky. We have great rum from Jamaica and Martinique. We have a growing portfolio of Mexican spirits like Mezcal, and Espolon Tequila, one of the most popular premium tequilas in the world. And then, we have white spirits, which include Skyy Vodka.

What is Skyy Vodka?

It's been two weeks since Skyy Vodka was launched in Nepal. Skyy Vodka is an American brand and is one of the big premium brands in the world for vodka invented in 1992 in San Francisco by Maurice Kanbar. It is a brand that really positions itself as the first premium American vodka and is proudly from California. Skyy vodka is very smooth and pure and is five times distilled. We partnered with Jawalakhel Group of Industries to bottle and distribute Skyy vodka in the Nepali market and we are excited about the launch.

Why is Nepal’s market important?

We found Nepal as a good fit for Skyy vodka. As the country of origin's appeal for vodka is high, it will attract Nepali consumers. Nepali consumers were observing with Jawalakhel Group of Industries that there is a premiumization trend happening and also the consumer appreciation towards premium drinks has also increased. So, Skyy vodka is tapping into that trend to provide premium American vodka to Nepalis consumers. White spirits are very big in Nepal and we wanted to be part of it with Skyy vodka.

What’s the reason behind choosing Jawalakhel Group of Industries?

Jawalakhel Group of Industries has a long history and leadership in the spirit industry in Nepal. We have been discussing a collaboration for a long time. We look forward to more partnerships with the Jawalakhel Group of Industries. The group has a track record of launching premium brands in Nepal and that is why we are collaborating.

What is your expectation from the Nepali market?

We really want consumers to enjoy Skyy vodka. We have a strong right to win here and found strong reasons to be in Nepal. We want to be focused on the way we launched. So, we do not want to be too quick everywhere, we want to be a premium brand focused on the right accounts in the right events, making sure that the consumer discovers us the proper way. After the launch in Kathmandu, we will gradually make Skyy vodka available in many areas in Nepal.

What are the other products lined up?

We are just executing our plan right now and are focused more on Skyy vodka to make it available in different parts of the country. As we have more than 50 brands under the Campari Group, we will be happy to discuss future brand launches in Nepal. I think consumers in Nepal are hungry for premium brands and we are looking forward to being a part of that story.